Anti-war conservative Robert Novak has some good things (well, I think they’re good things) to say about John Bolton in his most recent column:
If being a neoconservative means embracing a Wilsonian vision of bringing democracy to the world, Bolton is surely not one. He may be the last important foe of nation-building inside the administration and would like to get out of Iraq quickly.
Robert Novak is anti-war? Admittedly, I haven’t read many of Novak’s columns, but I thought he was a pretty big Bush/Republican apologist? And, the Republican official policy, as described by their leaders, is unilateral, preemptive war. Media Matters has a pretty big file on him. Maybe I missed something?
I have to admit (do I have to turn in my Liberal Conspiracy Membership Card for this?) that I don’t think the UN does much when it comes to addressing the things conservatives criticize it for not addressing—it’s going to be ineffective in Darfur, because China has significant economic interests in Sudan and they’re going to see to it that nothing (like a Security Council resolution) jeopardizes that. Same thing went for Iraq—even had there been a compelling reason to invade, Russia probably would have vetoed anything in the Security Council. This is a weakness most liberals aren’t really willing to engage.
But even given my doubts about the UN’s efficacy in this area, the Bolton nomination struck me as a huge mistake simply because it sent a pretty brazen signal to the rest of the world that we don’t care about the UN or international cooperation. Which isn’t the signal I think we need to be sending—even if we recognize the need to work outside the UN on a lot of these issues, it doesn’t cost anything to play nice publicly. Bolton seems to be a slap in the face to the international community for no real gain.
Chris – Careful – I think your membership is in danger! Seriously though, it does strike me as a foolish gesture on the part of the Bush administration. It’s actually kind of strange considering Bush has been trying to make nice with Europeans lately.
Eric – Novak is at least anti Iraq war. (He also opposed the first Gulf War IIRC) In fact he was slimed by National Review (along with a bunch of other people) as an “unpatriotic conservative” for opposing the Iraq war. See: http://www.nationalreview.com/frum/frum031903.asp
Lee, well let me just say that I am humbly and pleasantly surprised at Robert Novak. It’s true that I tend to read a lot of stuff from the liberal side of blogging, and I’ve seen too many instances of him being a shill for conservatives that my prejudices clouded any generosity I should have had. I’m glad to stand corrected! 🙂
A Thinking Reed 
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