Aren't You Glad John Bolton is on the Job at the UN?

August 1, 2006 is the one year anniversary of the recess appointment of John Bolton to be U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations (Mike's America remembers here).

He faced a Senate filibuster which prevented the majority of Senators from voting to confirm him.

Yet, every time he speaks he makes us proud that President Bush bucked the party of no-no-no and installed him as Ambassador.

Take for example his statement today, Friday July 14 to the UN Security Council regarding the unprovoked aggression of Iranian and Syrian backed Hezbollah against Israel:

[I]n recent days and weeks, we have seen an outbreak of violence in the Middle East, sparked by attacks and kidnappings which Hamas and Hizballah carried out against Israel. Events continue to develop even as we speak.

Hizballah's incursions across the Blue Line on July 12 were a deliberate and premeditated provocation intended to undermine regional stability and are contrary to the interests of both the Lebanese and Israeli people. We unequivocally condemn the kidnapping by Hizballah, a terrorist organization, of two Israeli soldiers and call for their immediate and unconditional release.

Provocations across the Blue Line by terrorist groups highlight the urgent need for full and immediate compliance by Syria and Hizballah with relevant UN Security Council resolutions, including 1559, 1583, 1655, and 1680.

The international community has made clear its desire to see the central authority of the Government of Lebanon extended throughout the country.

In this context, we underscore the importance of the Security Council President's statement of June 18, 2000 and the Secretary-General's conclusion that as of June 16, 2000, Israel had withdrawn all its forces from Lebanon in accordance with UNSC resolution 425 and met the requirements defined in the Secretary-General's May 22, 2000 report.
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President Bush has made clear that Syria and Iran must be held to account for supporting regional terrorism and their role in the current crisis. Syria provides safe haven to the militant wing of Hamas and provides material support to Hizballah, which also maintains an active presence in Syria. Iran's extensive sponsorship and financial and other support of Hizballah is well known and has been ongoing for decades. No reckoning with Hizballah will be adequate without a reckoning with its principal state sponsors of terror.

We call on Syria and Iran to cease their sponsorship and support of terrorist groups, in particular Hizballah and Hamas. For the third time in two weeks, we again call on Syria to arrest Hamas leader Khaled Meshal, who currently lives in Damascus. There is no excuse for a member state of the United Nations to continue to knowingly harbor a recognized terrorist.

Got all that? Israel obeyed the directives of the Security Council and withdrew from their occupation of Lebanon. The result? Even more vicious attacks by Hezbollah with the full support of Iran and Syria, both of whom ignore U.N. resolutions directed at their aggressive and warlike policies.

Analyze the timeline of the Israeli-Arab conflict. You'll find Israel making compromises and agreements only to have the peace shattered by Arab aggression.

I doubt there is enough time left in the Bush Administration to take the further difficult steps necessary to solve the problem. Especially since a loud minority in this country sides with the terrorists and killers that keep the history of the Middle East from becoming anything other than a sad story of continuing violence.

But at least we have brave men like President Bush and Ambassador Bolton, and brave women like Secretary of State Rice who understand that the path of moral equivalence (both sides are at fault) has only perpetuated the violence.

Also posted at the Wide Awakes.