Ten Years On, Durban Still Divides

As the UN commemorated the 10th anniversary of the controversial Durban World Conference Against Racism, opponents of the event held their own counter-conference at a nearby mid-town Manhattan hotel.

 The 2001 Durban Conference Declaration was boycotted by the US and other countries for its disproportionate focus on Israel and Zionism.

 The US, Canada, Australia and several European countries decided not to participate in this year’s commemoration.

 The Durban counter-event, entitled “The Perils of Global Intolerance”, had a wide range of participants from different fields, including Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor, Noble Laureate Eli Wiesel, former New York City Mayor Ed Koch and one time American Ambassador at the UN John Bolton. 

Bolton, a long-time critic of the United Nations, spoke about his time serving at the world body and the organization’s relationship with Israel.

“The pervasiveness of anti-Israel feeling, anti-Semitism, anti-Zionism and anti-Americanism is there [at the UN] as an under-current all the time,” he said. 

Bolton claims the central objective of the Durban III Declaration is the “delegitimization” of the state of Israel, “in ways large and small.”

George W. Bush’s former UN Ambassador also said he wanted the Obama administration to take “strong action” against the Palestinian membership application at the UN set for tomorrow, which he describes as yet another attempt to delegitimize the state of Israel. 

Bolton argued the White House should threaten the Palestinian Authority and UN with funding cuts.

 “If you want the USA to be listened to in the United Nations context, talk about money,”

Determined bureaucracies a challenge to the policy process

While at a book review at the American Enterprise Institute, John Bolton spoke with his fellow panelists about the role the Bureaucracy plays in shaping policy. The forum addressed the late Peter W. Rodman’s book Presidential Command: Power, Leadership, and the Making of Foreign Policy from Richard Nixon to George W. Bush. The author and the panelists found that some of the bureaucratic practices often limited the number of options presented to those higher up, by deriving consensus and stifling dissent. Bolton said, “Secretaries of State and Presidents ought to welcome competing views, and then the higher level policy maker makes the decision.” Lack of accountability was also of concern to both author Rodman and the panel, who stressed that the the president and other elected officials are the ones who have legitimacy derived from the constitution and the democratic process. The panel met for approximately an hour and a half.

By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico - Talk Radio News Service

A snowball in the Middle East

John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, discussed North Korean and Iranian nuclear proliferation at a banquet in the House of Representatives. Bolton described the current status of the North Korean and Iranian programs and attributed the White House’s changing policy towards North Korea and Iran to President Bush’s desire to leave a positive foreign policy legacy. He said both states have large influence in the Middle East and that making concessions to them could cause a snowball effect in the region.

Bolton lambasted President Bush’s suggestion to remove North Korea from the state sponsors of terrorism list. He said North Korea directly engages in acts of terror and should not be removed from the list simply due to its unrelated nuclear status. Bolton countered Bush’s stance by saying North Korea has not halted its uranium enrichment program and that the Bush administration is going out of its way to cast doubt on its existence.

Bolton also expressed frustration towards US-Iranian diplomacy, saying the Bush administration’s policy of not engaging in talks with Iran until Iran dismantles its nuclear program is in violation. He said the possibility of the United States placing foreign affairs officers in Tehran would show Iran that the United States will concede if given time. Bolton also added his opinion that an Obama administration would allow Iran’s quest for nuclear power to continue uninhibited.