I got an email from Barbara Boxer's pac saying she'd like to know what people would like her to ask John Bolton. When I clicked on the link, it didn't take me to a comment box, but five choices she wanted ranked (she's going to get less than five questions?). Okay, that's gimmicky, but not necessarily offensive, but the wording of the Iraq/Iran question gets to the heart of what bothers me and a lot of us here about the Democrats, even the best ones, and I explain it my response to her below the choices from her website.
What would you ask John Bolton?
On Tuesday, October 18th, John Bolton will be testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. At this critical time for our country, I want to be sure to take your thoughts and ideas into the hearing room with me -- and so I ask for your input.
I have already prepared a few possible questions for John Bolton below. Please take just a minute or two, right now, to rank those questions that are most important to you, so I can focus on the answers you're seeking.
Thanks for your help!
Please rank the following questions for John Bolton from 1 to 5:
(1 = most important question, 5 = least important; use each ranking once)
- Why did you not authorize the release of documents that Senators requested during your confirmation process -- a simple request which would have ultimately allowed a vote on your nomination to proceed?
- At a time when America's perception in the world community is at an all-time low, what specifically have you done since assuming the UN Ambassadorship to rebuild relationships with our global allies?
- Recently, you said, "...It cannot be a situation where the difficulties that we encounter in Iraq stop us from taking the necessary steps against countries like Iran seeking nuclear weapons." But don't you think that that's exactly what has happened? That the Bush Administration became distracted by rushing to war in Iraq, allowing Iran and North Korea to move their nuclear programs forward?
- On Monday, October 10th, you blocked a key UN envoy from briefing the Security Council on human rights violations witnessed first-hand during a recent visit to the Darfur region of Sudan. Why would you block such a briefing?
- In September, nearly 3,000 nongovernmental organizations convened for the UN World Summit. At the last minute, you unilaterally proposed hundreds of changes to a draft "outcome document" which many observers said threatened to "jeopardize the summit and the very future of the UN itself." Your changes eliminated all references to the UN's Millennium Development Goals, aimed to reduce poverty, improve education, reduce mortality rates, protect the environment, and reverse the spread of AIDS. Why did you seek to eliminate these important goals?
http://ga4.org/pacforachange/bolton_questions.html?member_key=d73nk8445wmx3b&My response to Barbara Boxer:
Thank you for seeking public input on your potential questions for John Bolton, but I was disturbed by the assumption built into your question about how Iraq affects our ability to deal with Iran. This seems to imply that Iran may require a military response.
It should be clear that the Bush people fought so hard to get John Bolton into that position precisely because they want a military assault on Iran, the third largest source of oil in the world.
Senator Boxer, given John Bolton's actions in arrive at the UN, the better question would be if he was tasked with making the pro-forma arguments for UN actions against Iran while alienating enough countries to ensure we don't get it, so we are justified in going it alone.
The American Conservative magazine ran a piece this summer saying that Cheney asked for plans to bomb Iran with conventional and nuclear weapons in response to terrorist attack, whether or not Iran was involved.
You should ask him if the administration has a plan to provoke Iran, and why they would attack Iran even if they weren't involved in a terrorist attack.
You know that Iran like any other country would be most likely to use nukes as a deterrent even if it did acquire them, and no one would rise to be leader of a country without the brains to figure out that their country would be wiped off the map if they hit us with a nuke.
Senator Boxer, you have been one of the more consistent critics of the Bush administration, but I beg you to be blunt in demanding to know if they plan to incite a war against Iran.
The damage they have done to our reputation in the world and our economy will take decades to repair as it is. An unprovoked attack on Iran could well invite retaliation from China and Russia.
You are probably familiar with Zbigniew Brezinski's Grand Chessboard outlining the real geopolitics in that part of the world and know that 95% of what you and the republicans talk about in public has as much to do with the real issues as how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.
It is obvious that the only people benefiting from the Bush oil grab in the Middle East are the oil companies, and they are not to repay the favor, ever.
Ask John Bolton why they are trying to start a war with Iran and if he says one word about WMD, terrorism, or spreading democracy, cut him off and hold him in contempt of Congress.
Please start being honest with the public, so we can decide if we agree with the next war.
It is humiliating to be lied to not only by the GOP, but by the better Democrats in Congress.
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