Khalilzad Assumes U.N. Post, but Bolton Is the Focus
By Benny Avni
April 24, 2007
The New York Sun
Original Source: http://www.nysun.com/article/53088
UNITED NATIONS — Although yesterday was Zalmay Khalilzad's first working day as the new American ambassador to the United Nations, some U.N. denizens focused on criticizing his predecessor, John Bolton, who has been out of office since December.
Mr. Khalilzad is expected to immerse himself in the most significant issues facing the world body, but issues were not in the spotlight here yesterday, as diplomats' conversations centered on the personality differences between the two American diplomats. Many said that despite some doubts about Mr. Khalilzad, anyone would be a better ambassador than Mr. Bolton.
South Africa's ambassador to the United Nations, Dumisani Kumalo — who has been a thorn in the side of American policymakers since his nation joined the Security Council in January — said of Mr. Khalilzad: The good news is that he can't be as bad as Bolton.
How does he know? Mr. Bolton wrote in an e-mail message to The New York Sun.
It's disappointing, coming from a colleague, to have characterization of other colleagues made in that way, an American U.N. ambassador, Alejandro Wolff, who has headed the mission since Mr. Bolton's departure, told the Sun in response to Mr. Kumalo's remark.
Ambassador Bolton worked hard on behalf of the United States, added Mr. Wolff, who has worked under Mr. Bolton and is expected to remain at the United Nations. Ambassador Khalilzad has arrived as a new ambassador. We have great expectations for him. And I wouldn't otherwise dignify [Mr. Kumalo's] comment.
While they confirmed that they had not yet met Mr. Khalilzad, several diplomats said they expected a new style to emerge in America's U.N. diplomacy, even as policies remain the same.
They have things in common, both are neocons, said a former ambassador from an Arab country, who has served at the United Nations alongside Mr. Bolton. But Khalilzad is more Middle Eastern. He is more sophisticated and easygoing. Bolton was more direct and to the point. These are differences in styles, but at the U.N., style is very important, he said, asking not to be named.
Mr. Khalilzad is set to join the 15-member Security Council today on a trip to Kosovo. He will present his credentials to Secretary-General Ban early next week — when both return from trips abroad — and will immediately assume the council's rotating presidency for the month of May.
A spokesman for the American mission, Richard Grenell, told reporters yesterday that the Kosovo trip would be an opportunity for the Afghan-born Mr. Khalilzad to familiarize himself with other council members, adding that the ambassador's early priorities would include issues involving Iran, Lebanon, and Sudan, as well as the United Nations's deepening involvement in Iraq. U.N. reform would also be high on the agenda, Mr. Grenell added.
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Republican of Florida and the ranking member of the House's Foreign Affairs Committee, said yesterday that upon meeting with Mr. Khalilzad last week, she urged him to press the United Nations on the deterioration of its human-rights bodies and its treatment of Israel. Financing should be restructured to allow America more control.
I posed to Ambassador Khalilzad that U.S. funding for U.N. operations ought to move away from compulsory assessed contributions, to one based on voluntary contributions, to afford greater control over how U.S. funds are used, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen said in a statement.