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Bolton: Iran will listen to sanctions
Former U.N. ambassador says diplomacy won't deter desire for nuclear weaponsDiplomacy is not likely to stop Iran from pursuing development of nuclear weapons, John Bolton, the former U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations, said Friday in Syracuse. Political and economic isolation, and ultimately a new regime, likely would make a difference, Bolton said. "When the Security Council speaks, people need to listen," Bolton said during his nearly 90-minute public appearance at Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. And if countries opt to disregard the United Nations, then the United States will step up, he said. "Our obligation is to say, 'Can we fix it, or are there alternatives elsewhere?' " he said. About 300 people attended Bolton's talk, which focused on United Nations reform and United States priorities. Bolton, who resigned from his U.N. post in December, had planned to speak at Maxwell in the fall but canceled that engagement because of Security Council negotiations about Iran. Bolton touched on other issues, such as the challenges of restructuring the permanent membership of the Security Council, which currently has five members, including the United States. It comes down to a question of which countries to add to the permanent membership and how many, Bolton said. The current council composition dates to 1945 and reflects the geopolitical atmosphere at that time, not the present state of the world, he said. Bolton criticized the U.N.'s Peace Building Commission, saying it hadn't made a decision in the last 10 years, and its Human Rights Council, saying that the attempt to restructure the former Human Rights Commission resulted in a nearly identical group. Cynthia Banas, of Vernon, said she agreed with Bolton that the U.N. has faults. But the United States should not act on its own when making decisions. She mentioned the call for weapons inspections during the weeks before the U.S. military action in Iraq. "The United States needs to listen to the other countries that make up that organization," Banas said, referring to the United Nations. "To say we don't listen is not the case," Bolton responded. He said the United States invaded Iraq because Iraq was not listening to the United Nations. "Somebody has to do something about it," Bolton said. "Why is that the United States? Who else is there?" Posted by: ryuge 2007-02-04 |
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