{"id":23819,"date":"2006-09-22T01:01:01","date_gmt":"2011-05-19T06:20:20","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2011-05-19T06:20:20","modified_gmt":"2011-05-19T06:20:20","slug":"us_ambassador_to_the_united_nations_john_bolton2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2006\/09\/22\/us_ambassador_to_the_united_nations_john_bolton2\/","title":{"rendered":"US Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

<\/p>\n

RUSH: This is a real pleasure to have for the first time on the program our ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, on the phone with us from New York. Mr. Bolton, thank you, and welcome. Great to have you with us sir.<\/line>AMBASSADOR BOLTON: Glad to be here, Rush.<\/line>RUSH: Now, my first question to you is not meant to be asked with any disrespect. I have been in contact with a lot of people in the country, the reaction that they have toward the United Nations I\u2019m sure doesn\u2019t surprise you after the comments of Mark Malloch Brown and the circus that we\u2019ve had this week. Many Americans want to know what is today, and into the future, the real point of the UN anyway?<\/line>AMBASSADOR BOLTON: I think there have been a number of occasions when the UN has been an effective instrument of American foreign policy. I think back to the first Persian Gulf War, for example, where President Bush 41 assembled an international coalition to help repel the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, and there have been other occasions since then. I think this, obviously, it\u2019s a mixed bag. There are some UN agencies that do very effective work. There are some that don\u2019t. That\u2019s one of the reasons why the president has pushed for reform in the UN so hard, because when you have the oil-for-food scandal as the dominant image in the UN obviously people are not going to have confidence.<\/line>RUSH: Well, has there been any reform? Is there any real chance for reform? I know that the president has invested great hope in your appointment and nomination for that. But has there been anything substantively done to correct the systems that led to the oil-for-food program? It appears that every attempt to reform that place fails.<\/line>AMBASSADOR BOLTON: What has happened is that a number of the reform efforts have simply been derailed. Just to give you one example, reforms, management reforms, personnel, procurement, integrity, accounting, and so on, proposed by the secretary general himself were rejected by the so-called nonaligned movement here at the UN. So very little has happened since the summit last year that launched this reform effort. We\u2019re continuing our work because we think it\u2019s important, but the record to date is not impressive.<\/line>RUSH: How would you define the nonaligned movement? We know now that it\u2019s Castro, a lot of Latin-American countries, Venezuela, Iran — well, not Iran — basically Third World countries. What\u2019s their purpose?<\/line>AMBASSADOR BOLTON: Well, you know, it\u2019s interesting, Daniel Patrick Moynihan who was up here has ambassador some years back once asked an ambassador from the nonaligned at the end of the Cold War, he said, “Since there\u2019s no more Soviet Union what are you nonaligned about anymore?” and there wasn\u2019t a very good answer to that. But I think one thing they do here is help protect the existing programs, the existing distribution of jobs and benefits, and that\u2019s one reason why there\u2019s so much opposition to reform. There are a lot of countries that are completely satisfied with the way things work here in New York. We obviously are not.<\/line>RUSH: Well, do you sometimes feel like a lone wolf? I know you represent the most powerful country in the world but it seems to observers who are not there and don\u2019t get to see the daily inner workings of the place that the whole world is aligned against us in this place for all practical purposes.<\/line>AMBASSADOR BOLTON: Well, there are different pieces of the UN. I think that\u2019s important to keep in mind. And the Security Council, obviously, we\u2019re one of the five permanent members; we have a veto. We\u2019ve made progress on some fronts there, not what we\u2019d like to see, but in Lebanon and Darfur, and the General Assembly, though, keep this statistic in mind: We are one of 192 members of the UN, so we have one vote out of 192. But when it comes to the budget of the UN, we pay 22%.<\/line>RUSH: Yeah, that would qualify under future reform. A lot of people are upset that we pay that big a percentage and portion of it, and yet it\u2019s on our soil. What about Chavez\u2019s idea to move it down to Venezuela?<\/line>AMBASSADOR BOLTON: Well, that was one of his more creative thoughts in that speech. It was really remarkable performance. Maybe he\u2019d like to pay 22% of the budget.<\/line><\/p>\n

RUSH: What about that performance along with Ahmadinejad? I mean, you have this week when the UN is highlighted, of all weeks, a lot of people watching it and it\u2019s very tough, Mr. Ambassador, for people to take any of what happens up there seriously when those two people are allowed to speak, as they should be, but then the reaction they get based on what they say has people scratching their heads and saying, “Why in the world do we treat them like adults, why do we treat them with any respect? What is the point?”<\/line>AMBASSADOR BOLTON: Well, certainly their performances were not serious, and I can tell you from the letters and phone calls we\u2019ve been getting this week from people around the country, they didn\u2019t like that performance at all, and I know how frustrating it is. In the administration we\u2019ve gotta kind of grit our teeth and say we don\u2019t think we should take it seriously. But I fully understand how frustrated people are, and it\u2019s one of the reasons why we\u2019ve been trying to persuade people here in New York that business as usual is not going to work. It\u2019s not going to work in Congress anymore, it\u2019s not going to work with the American people. After the scandals of oil-for-food program, they expect reform, and that\u2019s what we\u2019re working for.<\/line>RUSH: But do we have to take it seriously? You have the Chinese aligning with both Iran and Venezuela. Chavez obviously is trying to position himself to lead the anti-American, non-align movement Third World. He\u2019s trying to gain their votes. He wants a seat on the Security Council. I\u2019d like your opinion on that. I know we blocked him previously, but is he succeeding in fomenting among populations in Latin America anti-American sentiment that\u2019s going to become serious enough for us to have to deal with?<\/line>AMBASSADOR BOLTON: Listen, I think Chavez\u2019s role in the real world out there in Latin America is much more dangerous, much more troubling than his antics up here in New York. You know, he\u2019s in a situation where he has enormous revenue from oil. He\u2019s formed a close alliance with Fidel Castro, and all of the things that Fidel has wanted to do over the years he has not been able to do for lack of resources, especially after the former Soviet Union cut him off. Now you\u2019ve got the possibility of the combination of Castro and Chavez with real resources behind that mischief. So I wouldn\u2019t… You know, it\u2019s very disturbing what Chavez did up here. But what he\u2019s doing, interfering in the affairs of many Latin-American nations really is quite profoundly disturbing.<\/line>RUSH: Let\u2019s turn to Ahmadinejad for a moment. The man is all over the map, charming people, including media and some delegates. In one appearance he will say, “We don\u2019t even need a nuclear weapon. We love all people. We love the Jews. We love the Christians. We love everybody.” On another occasion he will advocate for the limitation of Israel and proceed with a nuclear enrichment program. What is the policy for dealing with this?<\/line>AMBASSADOR BOLTON: Well, you know, you put your finger on it at the beginning. This week was a charm offensive by Ahmadinejad. He\u2019s now gone back to Iran, canceling actually a few appearances here, but look, the Iranian government, even before him for the last three years has been throwing sand in the eyes of the people who are concerned about their nuclear weapons program. That\u2019s their tactic to avoid real scrutiny, to avoid the pressure they need to be put under to give up that program. Right now, they\u2019re in a stalling mode trying to avoid what has gotta be the inevitable consequence here that they give up their uranium enrichment program. We\u2019re giving our European friends a little bit more time to work on that, but if the Iranians don\u2019t come through on that point we\u2019re prepared to move for sanctions here on the Security Council.<\/line>RUSH: Why would they give it up? I mean, this is something, just in a commonsensical way, I don\u2019t understand. Why would any kind of pressure force people like that who definitely want to join the nuclear club to give it up? What sanctions are going to harm him? I know war is the last option anybody wants to take, and these are stages that we must go through, but is there some acknowledgement of the threat this man and if he actually leads this country and makes decisions for it, poses?<\/line>AMBASSADOR BOLTON: Well, I think President Bush has been all over this for the past couple years, and he said many, many times in public, and I\u2019ve heard him say it in private, that it is unacceptable for Iran to have nuclear weapons. You know, they are the world\u2019s leading state sponsor of terrorism. We call them the central banker of terrorism. They fund Hezbollah and Lebanon to the tune of a hundred million dollars a year, they fund Hamas and they occupy territories. You can imagine this kind of regime with nuclear weapons and what a threat it would be not just in the region, but in the world as a whole, as they also move to development their ballistic missile program. It\u2019s a frightening prospect.<\/line>RUSH: So, by the way, we\u2019re talking with Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton. What is the practical impact of sanctions, and how far would those sanctions go?<\/line>AMBASSADOR BOLTON: Well, you know it is a step. We don\u2019t believe it\u2019s a panacea for sure, but what we want to do is put pressure on Iran to make it universal that countries don\u2019t cooperate with them in supplying them weapons and materials of mass destruction, and to go after the funds that the leadership has sent overseas to freeze those funds. They don\u2019t want the sanctions to affect the average Iranian citizen. We don\u2019t have any quarrel with them. Our quarrel is with the government, and that\u2019s where we would target the sanctions.<\/line>RUSH: A policy question. The situation in Iraq as it is perceived — as it is reported — by much of the world\u2019s media, including ours, is that it\u2019s a failure. That, of course, is an opinion that has been advanced for the purposes of advancing an agenda of a certain group of people, but it is perhaps… Well, let me ask you. Has the situation in Iraq where we were told weapons of mass destruction, attempted nuclear buildup, now we\u2019re hearing almost identical things about Iran. Does this situation in Iraq paralyze us in terms of acting?<\/line>AMBASSADOR BOLTON: Absolutely not. You know, President Talibani of Iraq has been here in New York the whole week. He spoke to the UN General Assembly this morning. I had participated in a small dinner with him last night, and if you listen to him go through the accomplishments that the government of what he calls the new Iraq has accomplished, this democratic regime, the effectiveness of the military and police that have been stood up with American and coalition support. We\u2019re not there yet, but the real facts, as opposed to a lot of what we see in the media, the real facts show a steady progress toward giving the Iraqi authorities themselves more control over security, more responsibility. That\u2019s what we want. We want Iraqis to control their own destiny, and they\u2019re increasingly doing it.<\/line>RUSH: One more question. I\u2019d love to follow that up but I know your time is short, and I want to ask you about France. Chirac has again said no to sanctions, or very weak ones, regarding Iran. How is there going to be any agreement in the Security Council if France and Russia and China continue to give Iran a pass?<\/line>AMBASSADOR BOLTON: Well, look, this is going to be a test of the Security Council. There\u2019s no guarantee that will come to the right result even with the very aggressive diplomacy that President Bush and Secretary Rice and I and others have been engaged in. And this will tell us a lot about whether the Security Council can be effective in helping us against the two greatest threats to the United States in the world today, the international terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. So I don\u2019t want to leave anybody with the impression that we\u2019re promising success in the Security Council. We\u2019re going to do everything we can, but we\u2019ll find out just how effective the council is going to be.<\/line>RUSH: Ambassador Bolton, thanks for your time. It has been a real treat. I wanted to speak to you for a long time and I\u2019m glad we were able to arrange it today. All the best to you. There\u2019s a lot of support for you out there, you should know.<\/line>AMBASSADOR BOLTON: Well, many, many thanks, and I\u2019d love to come back again.<\/line>RUSH: Any time, sir. Ambassador of the UN, John Bolton.<\/line>END TRANSCRIPT<\/line><\/p>\n

*Note: Links to content outside RushLimbaugh.com usually become inactive over time.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RUSH: This is a real pleasure to have for the first time on the program our ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, on the phone with us from New York. Mr. Bolton, thank you, and welcome. Great to have you with us sir.AMBASSADOR BOLTON: Glad to be here, Rush.RUSH: Now, my first question to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nUS Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton - The Rush Limbaugh Show<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2006\/09\/22\/us_ambassador_to_the_united_nations_john_bolton2\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"US Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton - The Rush Limbaugh Show\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"RUSH: This is a real pleasure to have for the first time on the program our ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, on the phone with us from New York. Mr. Bolton, thank you, and welcome. Great to have you with us sir.AMBASSADOR BOLTON: Glad to be here, Rush.RUSH: Now, my first question to […]\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/un_ambassador_john_bolton.Par.0003.ImageFile.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"11 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/\",\"name\":\"The Rush Limbaugh Show\",\"description\":\"Excellence In Broadcasting\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2006\/09\/22\/us_ambassador_to_the_united_nations_john_bolton2\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/un_ambassador_john_bolton.Par.0003.ImageFile.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/un_ambassador_john_bolton.Par.0003.ImageFile.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2006\/09\/22\/us_ambassador_to_the_united_nations_john_bolton2\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2006\/09\/22\/us_ambassador_to_the_united_nations_john_bolton2\/\",\"name\":\"US Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton - The Rush Limbaugh Show\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2006\/09\/22\/us_ambassador_to_the_united_nations_john_bolton2\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-05-19T06:20:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-05-19T06:20:20+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#\/schema\/person\/911066e449df26406b107ca78cbbde0b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2006\/09\/22\/us_ambassador_to_the_united_nations_john_bolton2\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2006\/09\/22\/us_ambassador_to_the_united_nations_john_bolton2\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2006\/09\/22\/us_ambassador_to_the_united_nations_john_bolton2\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"US Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#\/schema\/person\/911066e449df26406b107ca78cbbde0b\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f18195e0073013fa0e16b040686c2924?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f18195e0073013fa0e16b040686c2924?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"US Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton - The Rush Limbaugh Show","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2006\/09\/22\/us_ambassador_to_the_united_nations_john_bolton2\/","twitter_card":"summary","twitter_title":"US Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton - The Rush Limbaugh Show","twitter_description":"RUSH: This is a real pleasure to have for the first time on the program our ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, on the phone with us from New York. Mr. Bolton, thank you, and welcome. Great to have you with us sir.AMBASSADOR BOLTON: Glad to be here, Rush.RUSH: Now, my first question to […]","twitter_image":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/un_ambassador_john_bolton.Par.0003.ImageFile.jpg","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"11 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/","name":"The Rush Limbaugh Show","description":"Excellence In Broadcasting","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2006\/09\/22\/us_ambassador_to_the_united_nations_john_bolton2\/#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/un_ambassador_john_bolton.Par.0003.ImageFile.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/un_ambassador_john_bolton.Par.0003.ImageFile.jpg"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2006\/09\/22\/us_ambassador_to_the_united_nations_john_bolton2\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2006\/09\/22\/us_ambassador_to_the_united_nations_john_bolton2\/","name":"US Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton - The Rush Limbaugh Show","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2006\/09\/22\/us_ambassador_to_the_united_nations_john_bolton2\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2011-05-19T06:20:20+00:00","dateModified":"2011-05-19T06:20:20+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#\/schema\/person\/911066e449df26406b107ca78cbbde0b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2006\/09\/22\/us_ambassador_to_the_united_nations_john_bolton2\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2006\/09\/22\/us_ambassador_to_the_united_nations_john_bolton2\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2006\/09\/22\/us_ambassador_to_the_united_nations_john_bolton2\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"US Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#\/schema\/person\/911066e449df26406b107ca78cbbde0b","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f18195e0073013fa0e16b040686c2924?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f18195e0073013fa0e16b040686c2924?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"url":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23819"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23819"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23819\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}