John Bolton: Another Story - Another View

By Victor Comras

There are several stories out and about regarding John Bolton and his character and fitness for appointment as US Ambassador to the United Nations. In fairness to John Bolton, I'd like to add another.

Let me start off with a disclaimer: I have not seen or dealt with John Bolton for more than twelve years. I doubt he even remembers me. Other than the fact that he's a committed conservative and I am not, I have no direct insights into his qualifications for the job. I tell this story because he treated me as a straight shooter.

My encounter with John Bolton was at the 1992 London Conference on the Former Yugoslavia. Both John Bolton and I were there as members of Secretary Eagleburger's delegation. Bolton was then Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs, and I was an underling in a different bureau. A key objective for Eagleburger at the London Conference was "putting some teeth" into the international sanctions on Serbia, and Eagleburger called one of his "rough elbow" delegation meetings to develop some ideas on how to handle this.

UN Sanctions normally fell within John Bolton's balliwick. and he made an eloquent presentation on the need for us to adopt a more activist approach in the Security Council to hold all countries accountable. Frankly, I did not agree with this approach. It ran counter to my own experience in dealing with various other UN sanctions programs. Eagleburger had invited dissenting views, and I gave mine.

I put forth a plan that would leave sanctions policy in the hands of the Security Council, but place sanctions enforcement in the hands of a separate independent regional mechanism. I suggested treating sanctions violations as border smuggling (that is customs issues) rather than political issues. My ideas ran directly counter to Bolton's presentation.

To my surprise Eagleburger agreed with me. And to my chagrin, he took the sanctions portfolio out of Bolton's hand and put me in charge of negotiating what I had described.

I remember very vividly John Bolton walking up to me after that meeting, extending his hand and telling me he wanted to help me anyway he could. He also directed his staff to provide me any needed assistance. His help and support during the London Conference, and afterward, were critical elements to my success. I will always remain grateful for his extended hand and his support.

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