To: U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
From: Barbara Crossette
Re: How to Defuse the Bolton Bomb

There is no larger diplomatic stage than the United Nations, and right now an international audience is morbidly fascinated by the tactics of U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton. As was apparent during his bruising confirmation battle, Ambassador Bolton has a long history of deep skepticism toward international organizations, particularly this one, and a demonstrated aversion to commitments that could entangle the United States.

Many Americans share his sentiments, at least in part. Polls show that positive feelings toward the organization have cooled in the wake of recent U.N. scandals, most notably the oil-for-food imbroglio. Still, Americans also say they want the United Nations to have a major role in the world (nearly 70 percent of respondents in a recent Gallup poll), and they have an inherent sense that a host of problems -- not least terrorism, nuclear proliferation, and pandemic diseases -- must be dealt with collectively.

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Bolton is not the rabid, out-of-control figure that his opponents frequently conjure up. Nor does he push the social agenda of the religious right. He is appreciated by his counterparts in New York as brilliant, knowledgeable, hardworking and, on occasion, wonderfully wry in his humor. When he was president of the Security Council in February, he insisted that council meetings start on time and that the council have a steady flow of reports from the field. But keen intelligence and sheer tenacity allow him to have an oversized impact, and perhaps make him a formidable challenge for you. At the United Nations, Bolton has often overwhelmed and angered delegates from other countries by raising dozens of last-minute amendments to long-negotiated agreements. It’s great lawyering, but poor diplomacy.

In a characteristically confrontational -- some say prosecutorial -- style, Bolton has effectively slowed the reforms that the State Department has demanded of the United Nations. He has thrown the organization into financial insecurity by trying to block passage of its budget. He has frustrated friends and allies, among them Canada, Europe, and Japan, leaving experienced diplomats asking whether he is running his own foreign policy. The United Nations, battered by more than a year of assault from isolationist voices in the U.S. Congress, has been weakened, not strengthened, during Bolton’s time on the job. The State Department needs to regain control.

Here are some steps you can take to make sure Bolton doesn't short-circuit American diplomacy:

Keep Bolton Away from Washington: Bolton has always had close relations with the office of Vice President Dick Cheney, and he apparently uses his frequent trips to Washington to keep those ties strong. His contacts there and on the National Security Council allow him to play a policy role independent of your office. You need to crack down on these extracurricular activities. When he was appointed, you made clear that Bolton would be reporting to the State Department. It didn't go unnoticed that you -- and not President Bush -- announced his nomination. It's time to turn that symbolism into reality. Whenever possible, keep Bolton consumed with tasks in New York. Limit his testimony to congress and keep him out of National Security Council meetings when you can. His politicking should be in the Delegates’ Lounge -- not in D.C.

Get a Mole in New York: As is his right, Bolton has replaced staffers at the mission in New York with loyalists and true believers. Recently, for example, he added to his team Richard "Terry" Miller as ambassador to the Economic and Social Council. Less than a year ago, Miller told an audience in Texas that the United Nations was unfit to deal with poverty and development, wedded as it was to "government-focused, socialist ideologies." Without forcing out Bolton's people, you need to emphasize that the U.N. mission is State Department territory. Send a senior personal emissary to work with the mission and keep your staff informed about the myriad resolutions, amendments, and conversations at the United Nations. In a sense, you’d be using Bolton's own tactics against him. When he was an under secretary of state, he apparently served as a conduit of information to Vice President Cheney and the National Security Council, often without your predecessor’s knowledge. It's time for you to get some eyes and ears of your own in New York.

Deploy the President: In September, President Bush will address the annual opening session of the U.N. General Assembly. It's a largely symbolic affair, with dozens of heads of state making long-winded speeches from the rostrum. Still, Bush's words will be scrutinized, and they can have an immediate impact. Last year, Bolton upset months of international negotiations over sweeping U.N. reform pledges by raising hundreds of objections to a summit document. Remarkably, he even demanded that all references to the Millennium Development Goals be removed. The omission would have amounted to renouncing a plan that emerged from an earlier summit to reduce poverty, disease, social inequalities, and environmental degradation. You could hear the collective sigh of relief from U.N. diplomats when President Bush rose to address the world body and pledged support for the Millennium Development Goals by name.

Bush's speech this year could serve a similar clarifying function on issues like the new Human Rights Council and U.N. reform. The president can cut through months of bureaucratic wrangling with a few choice words. Make sure he has the right message on the teleprompter.

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