Today's nomination hearings on John Bolton, the man President George Bush has picked to represent the US at the UN, promise to be lively. Of all Bush's second term appointments, this has ignited most controversy - more so than the choice of Paul Wolfowitz to head the World Bank.
Bolton is not your usual diplomat and his career is peppered with spicy remarks. Most memorably, he once said it would not make a bit of difference if the UN headquarters building lost 10 storeys. But Bolton is not just a big mouth, he has actively pursued policies that have not helped international stability.
As today's Washington Post points out, Bolton, as the administration's point man on weapons of mass destruction, has worked to reverse decades of US non-proliferation and arms control policies in the past four years. Bolton believes that arms treaties established since the second world war only limit US power and infringe on US sovereignty.
The Democrats could make life difficult for Bolton at today's senate hearings. One line of political attack has already emerged. Democrats plan to go into accusations that Bolton is alleged to have tried to get two intelligence analysts fired after they appeared soft on Cuba with assessments that contradicted his position.
Bolton does have his fans though. Don Bandow of the libertarian Cato Institute in Washington thinks that the UN, because of the mess it's in, needs a serious critic like Bolton, who also understands the institution. One thing is for sure, the sparks will fly in this musty institution if Bolton gets the appointment. Less certain though is whether his blunderbuss approach is going to be effective in bringing the reform the UN badly needs.
