Bolton has been called a “war hawk” and is an advocate for regime change in
Also in 2002, Bolton is said to have flown to Europe to demand the resignation of Brazilian José Bustani, head of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), and to have orchestrated his removal at a special session of the organization.[69] Bustani was deemed to be an obstacle in creating the case for the invasion of Iraq. [70]The United Nations’ highest administrative tribunal later condemned the action as an “unacceptable violation” of principles protecting international civil servants. Bustani had been unanimously re-elected for a four-year term—with strong U.S. support—in May 2000, and in 2001 was praised for his leadership by Colin Powell.[71] According to Bustani, John Bolton demanded that he step down in 24 hours, adding, “We know where your children are“.[72]
.. According to an article in The New Republic, Bolton was highly successful in pushing his agenda, but his bluntness made him many enemies. “Iran’s Foreign Ministry has called Bolton ‘rude’ and ‘undiplomatic’.”[75] In response to critics, Bolton states that his record “demonstrates clear support for effective multilateral diplomacy.” Bush administration officials have stated that his past statements would allow him to negotiate from a powerful position. “It’s like the Palestinians having to negotiate with [Israeli Prime Minister] Ariel Sharon. If you have a deal, you know you have a deal,” an anonymous official told CNN.[76] He also “won widespread praise for his work establishing the Proliferation Security Initiative, a voluntary agreement supported by 60 countries”.[77]
.. In 2002, Bolton held a speech at the Heritage Foundation where he accused Cuba of having a secret biological weapons program, and of collaborating with Libya and Iran.[78][79][80] Bolton asserted, “The United States believes that Cuba has at least a limited offensive biological warfare research and development effort. Cuba has provided dual-use biotechnology to other rogue states.”[81][80] Bolton made the remarks a week before former president Jimmy Carter was scheduled to meet Fidel Castro in Cuba, becoming the first US President since the Cuban Revolution to visit Cuba in an effort to build bridges between the two countries.[80]
The State Department’s chief bioweapons analyst refused to approve the accusation made in the speech, telling Bolton that the State Department did not have evidence to substantiate Bolton’s accusation.[78][79][82][80] Subsequently, Bolton berated the analyst, unsuccessfully sought to fire him, began to exclude the analyst’s supervisor from meetings, and tried to transfer the analyst to a different office.[78][79][80] Bolton was also alleged to have sought to punish other intelligence officers who refused to endorse his claims about Cuba.[83][73][80] Paul Pillar described Bolton’s attempts to get the intelligence community to endorse his views as among the most egregious recent instances of “arm-twisting” the intelligence community,[82] while Columbia University international relations scholar Richard K. Betts described the reports about Bolton’s pressure as “most blatant top-down pressure on intelligence” in the Bush administration.[84] Bolton claims that the issue was procedural rather than related to the content of his speech and that the officers, who did not work under him, behaved unprofessionally.[79]
.. Bolton has often been accused of attempting to pressure the intelligence community to endorse his views.[92][82][93] According to former coworkers, Bolton withheld information that ran counter to his goals from Secretary of State Colin Powell on multiple occasions, and from Powell’s successor Condoleezza Rice on at least one occasion.[93][94]
.. Bolton has been a strong critic of the United Nations for much of his career.[101] Bolton’s opposition to the UN was rooted in a disdain for international organizations, who he believed infringed on the sovereignty of the United States.[102][103] He also opposed the International Criminal Court.[102][103] In 1994, he stated, “There is no United Nations. There is an international community that occasionally can be led by the only real power left in the world, and that’s the United States, when it suits our interests and when we can get others to go along.”[104]
He also stated that “The Secretariat Building in New York has 38 stories. If you lost ten stories today, it wouldn’t make a bit of difference.”[105] When pressed on the statement during the confirmation process, he responded, “There’s not a bureaucracy in the world that couldn’t be made leaner.”[106] In a paper on U.S. participation in the UN, Bolton stated “the United Nations can be a useful instrument in the conduct of American foreign policy.”[107]