Bolton Suggests Nuclear Treaty Threatens American Sovereignty-Accuses Admin of 'Stunning Naivete'

[babylonsister]

Bolton Suggests Nuclear Treaty Threatens American Sovereignty
Accuses Administration of 'Stunning Naivete'
By Spencer Ackerman 3/30/10 3:33 PM


In a potential preview of conservative arguments for rejecting the Obama administration’s new nuclear arms reduction treaty with Russia in the Senate, John Bolton, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under George W. Bush, said the treaty reflected “stunning naivete” and placed it in the context of threats to American sovereignty during a wide-ranging speech to the Heritage Foundation on Tuesday.

Bolton, an influential conservative foreign policy official for decades, accused the Obama administration of harboring “a very different view of American sovereignty than a long line of presidents, certainly since Franklin Roosevelt.” Relying on portions of quotes by senior officials and an undefined category of people he characterized as the “international left” and the “academic left,” Bolton said the administration attaches a “near theological significance” to the power of international institutions whose actions threaten the supremacy of the U.S. Constitution.

Tying ratification of the treaty, which cuts American and Russian nuclear weapons stockpiles by 30 percent, to the broader question of the survival of American sovereignty raises the stakes for a key Obama administration priority. In his announcement of the treaty on Friday, President Obama linked it to his vision of a world ultimately free of nuclear weapons, a priority conservatives have derided. Ratification, already an uncertain prospect in a fiercely partisan Senate, will require the votes of at least eight Republican senators, a task made more difficult by the influential Bolton’s portrayal of the treaty as commensurate with a broader assault by Obama on constitutional values.

Advances in arms control would have “a cumulative impact on our sovereignty,” Bolton argued. While he declined to address the merits of the treaty — whose text has not yet been released — Bolton said it reflected Obama’s “almost religious view in the obligations and implications of treaties.” He scoffed at the president’s statement that the U.S.-Russian reduction in their countries’ nuclear stockpiles, which represent over 90 percent of the world’s nuclear weapons, would strengthen global arms control efforts, and suggested that it would spur rogue-state nuclear proliferation.

more...

http://washingtonindependent.com/80937/bolton-says-nuclear-treaty-threatens-american-sovereignty

[Ron Green]

1. He's still relevant in some way?

Sheesh.

[Turbineguy]

5. Only as

enemy of the State.

[damonm]

I take great comfort in this...

...as Bolton's wrong on just about everything he says just about all the time.

[yourout]

2. Not to mention the hit he will probably take in his GE stock.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. The Velveteen Ocelot Suggests John Bolton Blows Goats --

-Accuses Bolton of 'Stunning Douchebaggery'

[DCKit]

4. Dear John.... n/t

[Jennicut]

6. Anyone cares what Yosemite Sam thinks?

Besides, Russia is not conducting a cold war anymore.

Another thing, how can it be an assault on constitutional values when way back in the day there was no such thing as nukes?

[hlthe2b]

7. Hell needs a diplomate....

Mr. Bolton, you'd be a "shoe-in"

[Ian David]

8. It's only okay when Reagan does it. n/t

[mariawr]

9. Who asked him anything? nt

[LeftyAndProud60]

10. This guy is a retard. But I don't expect the senate to ratify this. Sad, but it wont happen. NT

[karynnj]

14. I think it might - Senator Lugar is 100% behind it

He and Kerry have been very successful at quietly, with no drama getting the various SFRC bills passed. That includes the landmark Kerry/Lugar/Berman foreign aid package for Pakistan that is at the center of our Pakistan foreign policy. It supposedly had its origins in discussions of Kerry, Biden and Hagel when they were on the trip where they were briefly stranded when their helicopter was caught in a snow storm. They had all been in Pakistan seeing the impact of US aid in teh wake of an earthquake - which increased the trust and friendship. It also included a big new effort against world hunger.

Since Obama became President, they have passed everything they put out and they defeated on many bills various unhelpful resolutions - of the type that had passed in the past (ie condemning Hamas, Iran, etc. in terms the administration did not want)

It will not be the slam dunk that Hillary Clinton spoke of - but I would guess that her response to whether it would pass was strategic - as showing concern might hurt.

[phleshdef]

11. Don't worry Bolton, we still have enough to annhilate ourselves several times over.

[Cha]

12. bolton's buddies ruined the country..

so he can pipe up from the neocon gallery but no one of intelligence is going to pay the least bit attention.

[karynnj]

13. I guess he forgets that Start I started under Reagan

and was signed into law by GHWB in 1992. A follow - up treaty was signed in 2002 - by George W. Bush.

Bolton was so extreme that he could not get an approval from a Republican dominated SFRC in the 109th Congress.

[Hippo_Tron]

15. An analysis that ignores the fact that we're the strongest military power in the world

International law is only a threat to the sovereignty of countries that are weak enough to be pushed around. No nation is in a position to punish the United States for a violation of international law (this was pretty clearly demonstrated by the Bush Administration's repeated non-observance of international law).

I don't know how someone could possibly think that international law is bad for America. International law creates international norms that are generally in accordance with American values and that other countries generally follow. And when we feel that it's in our interest to violate these laws we can do that because nobody is in a position to stop us. You would think that conservatives would appreciate that concept.

[Arkana]

16. Well, if Yosemite Sam says so...

Jesus everloving Christ why why why WHY does anyone listen to anything John Bolton has to say?

[Canuckistanian]

17. Who's this Bolton character?

I vaguely remember something about a "Bolton somebody-or-other" who was recess-appointed by Bush.

Same dude?

[babylonsister]

19. Yes. Here's his pic...

[MadMaddie]

22. Yea he's a real piece of shit...

[DCBob]

18. I would rather hear Michael Bolton's opinion..

:)

[saltpoint]

20. If John Bolton were a farmer he'd set his own barn ablaze,

just to watch it burn.

[saltpoint]

21. I don't care that much for Dick Lugar, but Lugar is at least informed

on this general topic, certainly more so than most of his Republican colleagues and absolutely more insightful than John Bolton.

I am still very grateful for the Democrats -- and Linc Chafee -- on the Foreign Relations Committee for making life hard for Mr. Bolton.