Wednesday, March 29, 2006

The Flexible John Bolton

"We have been incredibly flexible. Incredibly flexible. I probably have never been more flexible," John Bolton said.

How refreshing to see a neo-con come face to face with reality, rather than be allowed to indulge in the empty rhetoric that Bush and his gang normally spout at us.

And what brought about this sudden embracing of "flexibility?"

Well, it comes down to finding out that there's a big Russian guy and a wee Chinese man standing behind you with their middle fingers up your ass! That always brings much welcomed clarity of thought to even the most muddled Republican mind.

But to see Bolton, of all people, forced to embrace the structural reality of life at the UN was a moment to savour.

In a 1994 speech at the liberal World Federalist Association, Bolton declared that "there is no such thing as the United Nations." To underscore his point, he said: "If the UN secretary building in New York lost ten stories, it wouldn't make a bit of difference."

However, Bolton - who is seeking to bring Iran's nuclear misdemeanors before the Security Council - now finds both Russia and China threatening to veto any resolution that might allow the use of sanctions against Iran further down the road.

In a desperate attempt to have the Council agree to any kind of resolution, Bolton is now prepared to allow the deletion of all demands from the resolution, and has settled on previous resolutions being referred to only by their number.

By being forced to accommodate the opinions of others, Mr Bolton is learning that there is, indeed, such a thing as the United Nations.

Viva la Change!

Read the story here.

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