Obama Abroad (The Journal Editorial Report with John Bolton Interview)

The Wall Street Journal ^ | APRIL 5, 2009, 1:42 P.M. ET | Paul Gigot

[Syncro]

• ET

Obama Abroad

A transcript of the weekend's program on FOX News Channel.

Paul Gigot: Up next on "The Journal Editorial Report," Barack Obama abroad. The president makes his first big international trip amid rising tensions with North Korea. Plus, a Spanish court takes steps to indict Bush officials for torture. How will the current administration respond? And Obama's auto ultimatum. Is the threat of bankruptcy real? "The Journal Editorial Report" begins right now.

* * *

Gigot:

*snip*

Ambassador Bolton, good to have you here with us on the panel.

Let's start with the trip--the meeting with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev. What is the president's game plan here in pushing--promoting an arms-control agreement to reduce nuclear weapons?

Bolton: Well, I think we can see from this particular issue what they mean by the reset button. They mean, basically, going back to a Cold War kind of diplomacy, something that the Russians prize because it puts them on a plane with the United States. But I think it's a very detrimental course to follow. It goes back to a relationship that doesn't exist anymore. And it locks us into a way of thinking about the Russians that I think is going to harm, really, the long-term prospects for better relations.

Gigot: But when you talk to the Obama administration, they argue, Look, we need Russia. We need them with Iran principally, and we to help them--we need to get them to help us put pressure on Iran to stop its nuclear weapons advancement. Are we going to get that out of the Russians?

Bolton: Certainly not. And the Obama administration has tried a variety of ways, including offering to give up our missile defense sites in Poland and the Czech Republic.

*snip*

Russia wants to sell nuclear power plants to Iran

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Bolton comments that Iran is more of a threat to Russia than it is to the United States.

Which is ironic in that Russia is helping Iran get nuclear capabilities.

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John Bolton gives very informative insights in this interview.

Also on the panel are WSJ deputy editor Dan Henninger and foreign affairs columnist Bret Stephens.

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John Bolton:

"A wrist slap by the Security Council won't mean anything and, in fact, I think the North Koreans will take that as a sign of weakness," he said. "It'll say they got away with the test."

All Obama is capable of is wrist slaps. So he calls on the UN.

[sheikdetailfeather]

"John Bolton, when you were giving advice to two presidents, have you ever imagined that you could potentially be subject to the jurisdiction of a foreign prosecutor?"

Bolton: "Oh, absolutely. These people have been at it for 15 or 20 years. This is a concept, this so-called universal jurisdiction, that we should reject unequivocally--no compromise, no chit-chat about it. We should reject it. The idea that Spain, that has nothing whatever to do with these allegations, can reach out and get American officials, shows this isn't law, this is political retribution. The real issue is whether the Obama administration will stand up for American sovereignty when we see that it's filled and being filled more by people who don't think American sovereignty is all that important. I think for most Americans, sovereignty means our control over our government and to see us basically cede authority to other countries I think would be hugely annoying to most Americans, and amazing if they even knew the implications."

[sheikdetailfeather]

Gigot: John, let me ask you--let me take up another subject here, a little more lighthearted, but serious in its way. We have the Obama administration changing the rhetoric. No longer the global war on terror, Secretary of State Clinton said this week they're not going to use that. It' now an "overseas contingency operation," according to the Pentagon. What's going on here?

Bolton: Well, again, this would be laughable if it weren't serious. I think they're trying to distract attention from the war on terror. I don't think that was necessarily the best name myself; I thought we should have been more specific that it was about Islamic fundamentalism. We weren't concerned about dealing with the Basques or the IRA in Northern Ireland. But when you remove the whole threat of terrorism from your rhetoric, what you're trying is get it out of the center of American foreign policy, and I think that's a big mistake. I think people read that as a sign of weakness, and it will cause us real problems down the road trying to rally other countries to our side for what, "overseas contingencies"?

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From Here

"The U.S. is working very closely with Japan and we will be in consultation with our partners inside the council, trying to get the most appropriate and strong response we can possibly get," she said.

But former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton told FOX News that he has learned that the first draft of the resolution being circulated in the Security Council by the U.S. and Japan "is already pretty weak." 

"I think that the idea that the council today or later this week is going to do anything significant is pretty remote," Bolton said. "I can guarantee you from my own experience resolutions don't get stronger, they get weaker as time goes on."

Bolton said the most troubling aspect of the launch is the tepid response by the Obama administration. He said going to the Security Council is "space filler," but is unlikely to contain any action items to respond to North Korea's defiance of two U.N. resolutions. 

"What is the next step for the Obama administration? It appears to be simply to return to the six-party talks. If that's all there is, that tells the North Koreans a) we got away with this launch;  b) we can probably do it again; and it has implications for Iran and other would-be proliferators as well," Bolton said. 

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We have the Obama administration changing the rhetoric. No longer the global war on terror, Secretary of State Clinton said this week they're not going to use that. It' now an "overseas contingency operation," according to the Pentagon. What's going on here?

Bolton: Well, again, this would be laughable if it weren't serious. I think they're trying to distract attention from the war on terror. I don't think that was necessarily the best name myself; I thought we should have been more specific that it was about Islamic fundamentalism.

Well, I guess Bolton has been reading my posts:

To: Alberta's Child; frankiep

It should have been more specific, like The War Against Islamic Muslim Terrorism.

WAIMT

(The liberals could pronounce it "Wait a minute.")

But that would have been "racist."

23 posted on Sunday, April 05, 2009 10:02:48 AM by Syncro (Qui non intelligit, aut taceat, aut discat)

[Syncro]

It should have been more specific, like The War Against Islamic Muslim Terrorism.

WAIMT

(The liberals could pronounce it "Wait a minute.")

But that would have been "racist."

[Syncro]

More Bolton from the News:

"The US has now been put into a corner by initially saying it was a violation of the UN Security Council resolution - which in fact it was - and with both the Koreans and Japanese saying so, the US has no option other than to take this back to the Security Council," Mr Cossa said.

John Bolton, the US ambassador to the UN under Mr Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, and a proponent of a harder line on North Korea, said another UN resolution would achieve little.

"I don't expect much out of this administration - it doesn't seem to have any plans beyond going to the UN Security Council," Mr Bolton said.

"If the only thing we have is a Security Council resolution that condemns the launch, it is not going to get very far."

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I was going to post this as an excerpt on this thread, but decided it deserved a thread of it's own

• 'This Week' Transcript: Susan Rice (Rice "steamed" by Bolton)

  Sunday, April 05, 2009 2:22:50 PM · by Syncro · 1 replies · 48+ views

  This Week with George Stephanopoulos ^ | April 5, 2009 | GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS

[austingirl]

Did you hear O today say that “words mean something” when speaking about the UN resolutions against (lil) Kim? He is very comfortable contradicting himself completely and the MSM never calls him on it.