John Bolton made clear Wednesday that he believes the United Nations has systematic management problems, but the new U.S. ambassador to the world body said he held out hope that those problems could be fixed. If they are, Bolton said, the United Nations should be allowed in the future to run operations like the much-criticized Oil-for-Food program. "There may be an occasion that we want the U.N. to properly run a program like this," Bolton told the House International Relations Committee in his first extensive public comments about the United Nations since his recess appointment early last month.The Oil-for-Food program, which allowed Iraq to trade fuel for food and medical supplies, was alleged to have spent millions in paying off middlemen along the supply chain. Iraq also spent money earned by the oil sales to try to convince some members of the U.N. Security Council to lift sanctions on the Mideast nation.
Also appearing before the committee was Mark Malloch Brown, Secretary-General Kofi Annan's chief of staff, who stepped into what some at the United Nations consider the lion's den. He escaped without a mauling, instead being treated respectfully by committee members who appear to have made the calculation that he is a genuine reformer who has Annan's ear. Brown told FOX News in an exclusive interview that the recent U.N. summit was a major step forward on the road to reform in that it gave top officials an endorsement to press ahead with sweeping management changes that might prevent another Oil-for-Food type scandal in the future.