John Bolton suffers from foot-in-mouth disease.

While speaking to a meeting of B'nai B'rith International, a Jewish humanitarian organization, at the United Nations on Monday John Bolton let slip the real Bush administrations preferred policy of threats diplomacy torwards Iran.

"This is a sign to the rulers in Tehran that if they give up their long-standing support for terrorism and they give up their pursuit of weapons of mass destruction, that their regime can stay in place and that they can have a different relationship with the United States and the rest of the world."

I must admit that Bolton's words read like one nation making threats to another nation. And to think of all the political gesticulating the Bush adminstration goes through to criticize Iran for making threats to Israel. Of course, the article does mention the moment when John Bolton tried to spin his statement when pressed by reporters,

It was "flatly wrong," he added, to argue that Western powers wanted the Security Council to adopt a resolution that was legally binding on Iran "as an excuse to use force for regime change or anything else."

By then it was too late, John Bolton had been infected with a severe case of foot-in-mouth disease.


And while I am on the topic of letting things slip...like the revelations made by Bolton, apparently the new Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki announced to the suprise of Tony Blair that Iraqi forces would be taking control of two areas currently held by British troops by next month. And it gets even better. Not only will the Iraqis be replacing the British in two cities, the Iraqi prime minister also announced that the US and British troops will also be drawing down troops levels at an accelerated pace.

Nuri al-Maliki, the new Iraqi prime minister, had a surprise for Tony Blair and his entourage in Baghdad yesterday. At a joint press conference, Mr Maliki said British troops would hand over responsibility in two provinces to Iraqi security forces by next month and that he expected US, British and other foreign troops out of 16 of the country's 18 provinces by the end of the year, a much speedier and more ambitious schedule than the US and Britain have so far admitted to.

The announcement was news to Mr Blair and his team. Mr Maliki said there was an agreement with the British: but British officials said there was no agreement. And he said the withdrawals would be in June: officials say it will be July.

Mr Blair was more vague than the Iraqi prime minister. He insisted that there was no timetable and that the handover to Iraqi forces would depend on the prevailing conditions.

Sounds to me that the new Iraqi prime minister needs to better understand his role in the heirarchy of US hegenomy.


John Bolton, Bush administration, Iran, Tehran, weapons of mass destruction, Israel, United Nations, Security Council, United States, regime change, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, Tony Blair, Baghdad, timetable, hegenomy