Iranians must resolve to overthrow the Revolution and its superstructure and create institutions that truly allow for representative government.
The mullahs would retaliate. But things would be much worse if they had the bomb.
Defending U.S. interests is neither arrogant nor disrespectful of others, but is instead the basic task of our presidents.
Terrorists are the barbarians of our time, and the law-enforcement approach appropriate within constitutional democracies simply does not apply to their belligerent and uncivilized war of terror against us.
Hurrying to negotiate a successor to the second Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty reflects a "zeal for the deal" approach that benefits only Russia.
Negotiations like the six-party talks are a charade and reflect a continuing collapse of American resolve.
President Obama's passivity before the threatened foreign prosecution of Bush administration officials achieves by inaction what he fears doing directly.
The extremists who harbored al Qaeda could get control of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal.
At the United Nations, Israel is always cast in the role of villain, and matters are therefore certain to end unhappily.
The decision not to attend the United Nations conference is likely the Obama administration's most painful foreign policy call to date.
There has been a recent inversion of historic Western priorities and a decline in our collective resolve and instinct for self-defense.
The Obama administration should reset its Russia policy.
The president sends the wrong messages to Israel and Iran.
The International Criminal Court lacks effective oversight, and there is a risk it will take actions that have unforeseen effects in difficult crisis situations.
It is impossible to ignore Iran's active efforts to expand, improve, and conceal its nuclear weapons program in Syria.
The Obama administration increasingly sees resolution of the "Arab-Israeli dispute," as the key to peace and stability in the Middle East.
The danger is that direct talks with Iran may facilitate, not reduce, threats to U.S. interests.
The Obama administration's foreign policy performance has been uneven--with its withdrawal from the United Nations group preparing for "Durban II" merely the most obvious mess.
The Obama administration is signaling that its approach to Russia will center on Cold War-era arms control precepts and objectives.
The secretary of state does not seem to grasp the scope of the threat posed by Pyongyang's nuclear program.
Iraq's peaceful elections and strong voter turnout last weekend were a major success for both that country and the United States. The elections could also redefine Iran's role in the region.
A Plan for Action appears to be a blueprint for the Obama administration's foreign policy.
Early signs are that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is downplaying the significance of Pyongyang's nuclear program.
Iran's nuclear weapons program willbe high on the agenda for President Obama.
The subject of Presidential Command, Peter Rodman's last book, published posthumously, is especially timely as we await Barack Obama's inauguration.
Last week, the United Nations Security Council adopted a British resolution calling for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, but, unusually, the United States abstained on the vote.
Somalia's turmoil is yet another compelling example that the rest of the world will not stand idly, waiting for America to solve its domestic problems.
Gaza would be returned to Egyptian control and the West Bank would revert to Jordanian sovereignty.
International agreements that go beyond the rules of international trade and finance should receive the intense scrutiny of the treaty process, regardless of their policy merits.
The diplomacythatBarack Obamafavors toward Tehran is exactly what the Bush administration has been pursuing for years.
After six years of failed diplomacy, Iran continues to march toward a nuclear weapons capability.
On missile defense, the president-elect is not off to a good start.
To his sorrow, a U.N. devotee saw the Oil for Food fiasco firsthand.
AEI Online
November 13, 2008
After the longest presidential campaign in our history, president-elect Barack Obama now has ten weeks to prepare to govern.
After the longest presidential campaign in our history, Barack Obama now hasseventy-seven days to prepare to govern.
All will agree that there are situations of human suffering that deserve attention, but most are far removed from even the most expansive definition of "national interests."
John Bolton argues it is time for a harsh crackdown on a misbehaving North Korea, while James Kelly thinks we need to give talks a chance.
There is no doubt Russia's behavior has grown increasingly troublesome for some time.
U.S. opposition to Russia's recent behavior should not rest on a desire to "punish" Russia but on the need to brace Moscow before its behavior becomes even more unacceptable.
Nuclear proliferators have a new model to follow.
Is the stability of an internationally criminal, cruelly dictatorial, nuclear-weapons-equipped North Korea really somethingthatshould valued above all conceivable alternatives?
Iran is now closer than ever to obtaining deliverable nuclear weapons. What are the options available to our next president in thisvolatile situation?
President Bush should push back North Korea, stand up to Russia, and support Israel against Iran before leaving office.
Houston Journal of International Law
August 29, 2008
A speech about international security and its relation to economic development at the Federalist Society.
Selecting Joe Biden as a running mate is politically unhelpful to Barack Obama because it obscures his message.
At least for now, the smoke seems to be clearing from the Georgian battlefield. But the extent of the wreckage reaches far beyond that small country.
With each passing day the military option becomes less viable.
Our free society will see serious trouble if we fail to see that not every political mistake is equivalent to Watergate and not every misstatement is perjury.
The senator's Berlin speech was radical and naive.
From the very moment of independence, there have been those predicting America's demise, decline, or irrelevance. It still has not come.
Instead of debating how much longer to continue failed diplomacy, we should be considering what cooperation the United States will extend to Israel before, during, and after a strike on Iran.
The potentially negative consequences for transatlantic solidarity of the European Union's navel-gazing and American lack of concern are very real.
The Bush administration'smeltdown is a sad thing to see.
After the Bush administration,thereality of Iranian, North Korean, and other nuclear weapons programs will continue.
European Union leaders will never construct an effective trans-national Europe by consistently avoiding the judgment of the people.
Defense contracts to foreign firms should be limited.
Presidential candidate Barack Obama's observations on foreign policyshow hisinexperience and immaturity.
Adebate between the presidential candidates on the role of negotiations in foreign policy will be critically, perhaps mortally, important.
The underlying reality of North Korea's nuclear activities will haunt President Bush's successor and threaten international peace.
The Bush administration's concessions to North Korea will encourage nuclear proliferation to other rogue states seeking the bomb.
Silvio Berlusconi can provide a significant alternative to the EU-3 and do something concrete to derail Iran's threat to the North Atlantic community.
AEI Online
April 28, 2008
By talking about breaking sovereignty down or sharing it or limiting it, people are saying toAmericans that we do not know how to govern ourselves effectively.
North Korea is pushing for an agreement with the United Statesthat is based purely on trust.
Taiwan continues to progress towards democracy, but must establish a beneficial economic relationship with China.
There are some signs that the Bush administration may be reaching the end of its patience with the Six-Party Talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
The separation of Kosovo is threatening to the Balkans and may divideRussia from the West.
John M. McConnell must change the National Intelligence Estimate process to protect against distortions, leaks, and policy biases.
An imposed settlement of the Kosovo question and the partitioning of Serbia's sovereign territory without its consent is not in the interest of the United States.
It defies common sense to believe that even vigorous U.S. diplomatic efforts through the Annapolis Process can result in true progress in the Middle East.
By refusing to make any further disclosure concerning its nuclear programs, North Korea has again shown its true colors.
Keeping the country safe must be Washington's top job--and that takes more than just talk.
AEI Online
December 18, 2007
Four AEI scholars assess the latest National Intelligence Estimate on Iran.
Too much of the intelligence community is engaging in policy formulation rather than "intelligence" analysis, and too many in Congress and the media are happy about it.
The failure to stop proliferation in North Korea sends the wrong message to other countries involved in nuclear activity.
The failure to stop proliferation in North Korea sends the wrong message to other countries involved in nuclear activity.
Why was North Korea so upset by an Israeli air strike in the Middle East?
Why was North Korea so upset by an Israeli air strike in the Middle East?
John Bolton may no longer be in the Bush administration, but he's still very much in the game as he offers advice regarding North Korea.
There can be no compromises made with North Korea.
There can be no compromises made with North Korea.
Britian cannot keep sinking deeper into the European Union and still claim to have the best interests of the United States in mind.
The Bush administration is already over as far as North Korea policy is concerned.
Iran is much closer to weapons-grade enriched uranium than readers have been led to believe.
Is the U.S. handling of the North Korean nuclear issue setting a dangerous precendent?
John R. Bolton's acceptance speech for a 2007 Bradley Prize.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's decision to return home fifteen British hostages has put Iran in a win-win situation.
Six-party talks on North Korea will be worthless without verification.
American Interest
March 1, 2007
The United Nations spends far too much of too few countries' contributions, and it needs to be reformed.
The future of the United Nations is under the control of the new Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon.
Jeane Kirkpatrick Memorial Service
February 6, 2007
John R. Bolton remembers Jeane J. Kirkpatrick during her memorial service at the Washington National Cathedral on February 6, 2007.
John R. Bolton's speech to the Maxwell School at Syracuse University.
New UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon has done well where he deferred to member governments, supported UN reform and demonstrated personal integrity.
AEI event on 11/03/03
November 3, 2003
John R. Bolton, under secretary of State for arms control and international security, discusses the International Criminal Court.
The Washington Times
March 6, 2001
Review of Unspeakable Truths: Confronting State Terror and Atrocity, by Priscilla B. Hayner
Earth Times
January 24, 2001
Bush's Inaugural Address reaffirmed the basic arguments of his candidacy andextended the prospect for greater cooperation and civility in government.
Earth Times
December 28, 2000
The authordiscusses the Florida election and America's foreign policy.
The Earth Times
November 27, 2000
Earth Times
November 9, 2000
An effective transition is one that allows the incoming administration to make sharp changes on or as soon after January 20 as possible, so that everyone--at home and abroad-- understands that a new set of hands is on the wheel.
Earth Times
October 31, 2000
When American public opinion as a whole becomes aware of the broader implications of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control approach to international regulation, opposition will expand quickly, whatever the results of the November election.
The Weekly Standard
October 30, 2000
The secretary general, the Security Council, the U.N. Human Rights Commission, the General Assembly, and the yet-unborn investigative commission are all now loose in the field, in every case to the detriment of American dominance.
House International Relations Committee
October 11, 2000
Although this brief survey of five current case studies of UN peacekeeping is necessarily summary in nature, I believe that the evidence forms a sufficient pattern to conclude that the UN is substantially overextended and in danger of becoming more so.
Earth Times
September 21, 2000
Apart from a ritualistic reference in its final Declaration, the Millennium Summit almost entirely ignored the subject of expanding the United Nations Security Council.
House Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights
September 20, 2000
The risks and pitfalls for the United States, and indeed for the United Nations itself, in pursuing these flawed and potentially dangerous policies have rightly attracted extensive Congressional attention during the Clinton Administration.
Earth Times
September 13, 2000
Apart from a ritualistic reference in its final declaration, the Millennium Summit almost entirely ignored the subject of expanding the United Nations Security Council.
The Earth Times
September 9, 2000
The Brahimi Report is so badly flawed on UN peacekeeping doctrine, the centerpiece on which its other recommendations must turn, that all of the rest of its proposals must be viewed with enormous skepticism.
The Earth Times
September 8, 2000
The Millennium Summit may be ending, but the real debate in Washington is just beginning.
The Earth Times
September 7, 2000
Other than serving as a portion of the organized cheering section for the United Nations, this Inter-Parliamentary Union meeting was noteworthy for how little was accomplished.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee
September 6, 2000
In order to preserve the WTO as a non-political body, Congress would do well to consider the long- term benefits for the WTO that would accrue by supporting what could be an important and precedent- setting declaration of Congressional intention to insulate the WTO from extraneous political debates.
The Earth Times
September 4, 2000
More negotiators and mediators, more "peacekeeping" forces, more non-governmental organizations (especially of the humanitarian and human rights varieties), and more media attention are all conventionally thought to be unmitigated good things.
The Australian Financial Review
August 31, 2000
Throughout the UN's entire history, it has had an unfortunate tendency to arrive at decisions that reflect not the highest, but the lowest common denominator of its members.
The Washington Post
August 29, 2000
The Pan Am 103 trial may or may not produce justice for the two defendants, but through an unambiguous act of appeasement, Gadhafi will likely never have to answer for his role in the tragedy.
Los Angeles Times
August 25, 2000
United Nations peacekeeping operations, and the resources and personnel devoted to them, are again on the rise, raising questions about the UN's capacity to handle so much new business effectively.
Washington Times
August 22, 2000
John R. Bolton reviews Geoffrey Robertsons's Crimes Against Humanity: The Struggle for Global Justice.
Weekly Standard
August 14, 2000
Beijing has attempted to condition Taiwan's admission into the World Trade Organizationon Taiwan's accepting what has long been the position of the People's Republic of China: that Taiwan is part of "China."
Taipei Times
August 7, 2000
The People's Republic of Chinaistrying to condition Taiwan's World Trade Organizationentry on accepting the long-standing PRC position that Taiwan is part of "China."
Washington Times
August 6, 2000
John R. Bolton reviews Jeremy Paxman's The English: A Portrait of a People.
A review of the fundamental political and legal issues involved in securing UN representation for Taiwan.
Whether the United States will continue to employ economic sanctions is very much in doubt.
The Weekly Standard
June 26, 2000
The authorreviews RichardButler's memoir of his struggle against Saddam Hussein.
Washington Times
May 23, 2000
America shouldlet Beijing's leaders know the burden of responsibility for renewed progress in cross-Strait relations now rests squarely on them.
True justice in the Pan Am 103 case would involve attacking the source of that terroris--in Libya.
Los Angeles Times
April 5, 2000
Washington’s attention to the alliance now will pay off as Tokyo weighs its changing role in the world.
Weekly Standard
April 3, 2000
China mavens are in denial about the meaning of the Taiwan election.
Washington Times
March 15, 2000
China's latest threat to use force against Taiwan demonstrates precisely how weak Beijing believes the Clinton administration to be.
Washington Times
February 29, 2000
Bolton reviews Paul Laxalt's Nevada’s Paul Laxalt: A Memoir.
Financial Times
February 11, 2000
The impact ofcreating a European Security and Defense Identity.
Insight on the News
February 7, 2000
Bolton on America's relations with Taiwan and China.
House International Relations Committee
January 21, 2000
The UNis involved in conflicts, or is considering involvement, where it has neither the authority nor the competence to be effective, and its instinctive reaction to difficulties it has encountered has been simply to do more of the same.
USA Today
January 18, 2000
Bolton critiques the International Criminal Court.
Weekly Standard
December 27, 1999
Iraq is back in the newsin a context that should pointedly remind us how completely American policy toward Saddam Hussein has collapsed.
Washington Times
December 15, 1999
As expected, the European Union's leaders, meeting in Helsinki over the weekend, approved the creation of a 60,000-troop rapid reaction force, designed to act independently of NATO.
House International Relations Committee
November 10, 1999
Pursuing common defense objectives, such as national and theater missile defenses, might well be another joint enterprise that can keep NATO healthy and vibrant.
Washington Times
November 4, 1999
U.S. foreign policy frequently evolves from the clash between Congress and the president, and nowhere is that more true in the last several decades than on U.S. policy toward Taiwan.
AEI Online
November 1, 1999
Kofi Annan asserts that the Security Council is "the sole source of legitimacy on the use of force"; ifthat claim is unchallenged, its discretion in using force is likely to be inhibited in the future.
Jerusalem Post
October 18, 1999
The U.S. Senate's blunt rejection last week of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty on nuclear weapons caused considerable international consternation.
Los Angeles Times
September 22, 1999
A sounder U.S. policy would make clear to North Koreathat we are indifferent to whether we have "normal" diplomatic relations with it, and that achieving that goal is entirely in their interests.
Washington Times
September 10, 1999
Differences within the Clinton administration over the handling of Libya's bombing of Pan Am 103 grew even wider just weeks ago.
Weekly Standard
August 9, 1999
The ultimate result of our extending recognition to Taiwan would be enhanced peace and stability in East Asia.
The Geneva meeting thus marks the worst political abuse of the four Geneva Conventions in their history, and a new low point for "humanitarian law" in the international system.
Washington Times
July 21, 1999
President Clinton and other NATO leaders have indulged in considerable self-congratulatory rhetoric following the Yugoslav air campaign.
National Post (Canada)
July 20, 1999
Taiwan is independent from China andthe People's Republic of China and the Republic of China have "a special state-to-state-relationship."
House International Relations Committee
July 14, 1999
Anti-Israeli sentiment at the UN is often a surrogate for two other predilections: anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism.
National Interest
June 1, 1999
Kosovo is an example of a policy gone horribly wrong, but not because of insufficient attention to human rights by the administration.
Washington Times
May 16, 1999
Mr. Clinton has consistently mismanaged what should have been, for any administration, the primary obligation of stewardship for the country's intelligence capabilities.
Washington Times
May 16, 1999
Review of The Lexus And The Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization by Thomas Friedman.
Washington Times
May 12, 1999
Review of Betrayal: How The Clinton Administration Undermined American Security by Bill Gertz.
Wall Street Journal
April 5, 1999
The real lesson of Kosovo is that "international law" in political and military matters is increasingly exposed as an academic sham.
Far Eastern Economic Review
April 1, 1999
Conditions in Indonesia today are eerily reminiscent of those in Yugoslavia in 1991-92.
Weekly Standard
March 8, 1999
Aspiring presidential candidates should take note of the damage Clinton has done to U.S. credibility.
Washington Times
March 3, 1999
Review of Oil, God, And Gold: The Story Of Aramco And The Saudi Kings, by Anthony Cave Brown.
Washington Times
February 23, 1999
UN meeting in Rambouillet represents a massive failure of Western political leadership, and the start of a long and potentially deadly deployment of NATO "peacekeepers."
Washington Times
February 1, 1999
The final collapse of American efforts to eliminate Iraq's weapons of mass destruction through the United Nations is now apparent.
Legal Times
January 11, 1999
Most corporate CEOs would be surprised to learn that they have something in common with former Chilean President Augusto Pinochet.
Foreign Affairs
January 1, 1999
Review of War Crimes, by Aryeh Neier, and Between Vengeance and Forgiveness, by Martha Minow.
AEI Online
January 1, 1999
Universal jurisdiction has excited many legal theorists and human rights advocates with the promise of bringing to justice more frequently those who commit crimes against humanity.
Weekly Standard
December 28, 1998
If we had greater confidence in the president's credibility and in his military leadership, we would all be more confident that, in fact, he made the correct decision, rather than just another expedient political maneuver.
Weekly Standard
December 21, 1998
Clinton's embarrassing failure in November to punish Iraq militarily illuminates broad and profoundly disturbing themes of his foreign policy.
Washington Times
December 11, 1998
A clear repudiation by Clinton of a unilateral declaration of a Palestinian statewould help focus both parties on concrete issues rather than diplomatic abstractions.
National Interest
December 1, 1998
The United States has many alternative foreign policy instruments to utilize that are fully consistent with our national interests, leaving the International Criminal Court to the obscurity it so richly deserves.
AEI Online
November 13, 1998
The Clinton administration's inclination to side against America’s friends in disputes with their adversaries is clear in the administration’s disdainful diplomacy towardTaiwan.
Washington Times
October 24, 1998
Bolton reviewsAmerica's Imperial Burden by Ernest Lefever.
House International Relations Committee
October 8, 1998
Testimony by John R. Bolton before the House International Relations Committee on October 8, 1998.
Weekly Standard
September 28, 1998
The collapse of America's Libya policy--nearly lost in the recent crush of news--should not be allowed to pass unnoticed.
The Weekly Standard
September 7, 1998
The Clinton administration has been worse than incompetent regarding Iraq: It has been duplicitous.
Washington Times
June 28, 1998
Review of Conquests and Cultures by Thomas Sowell.
The Weekly Standard
March 23, 1998
In our Iraq policy, we are drifting, and there is no shoreline in sight.
State of Wisconsin Elections Board
March 18, 1998
There will be less political speech, not more, and the public will be less well informed, have fewer options and debates, and miss untold opportunities to make important policy choices.
Weekly Standard
December 15, 1997
That Saddam Hussein has successfully befuddled so many Western analysts is a sign of just how desperately in trouble the sanctions now are.
AEI Online
November 17, 1997
When the UN levies assessments on the United States, Congress is fully within its rights to pay them, ignore them, or do anything in between.
Los Angeles Times
October 13, 1997
What ASEAN, not the United Nations, should undertake is the diplomatic equivalent of a union-management negotiation.
Washington Times
October 1, 1997
Review of The Enduring Edmund Burke, edited by Ian Crowe.
Washington Times
September 21, 1997
The McKinney amendment's distortion of priorities will impair our security interests in a complex and still-threatening global environment.
Washington Times
May 31, 1997
Review of The Once and Future Security Council, edited by Bruce Russett.
Los Angeles Times
April 13, 1997
The UN can be saved and live a productive life, but it needs radical surgery.
AEI Online
March 25, 1997
Two decades ago, the Supreme Court struck down legislation that limited campaign spending.
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