Iraq and Afghanistan

The Republican attempt to intervene with due process in order to save the life of an unfortunate but essentially unsalvageable woman in Florida might suggest an unwillingness to take the kind of difficult and tough decisions that doctors so often feel called upon to make. However, in the military-terrorism-foreign affairs-treatment of prisoners realm, the Administration is laying the groundwork for even tougher actions. First, they appointed Ambassador Bolton as American Ambassador to the United Nations. This is in spite of his well-known record of disparaging the usefulness of the organization and his stated position that we should only support the United nations when it supports our interests. This record is so egregious that a number of high-placed persons who have served in the foreign service and in policy positions in previous administrations have written a letter to Senator Lugar opposing his nomination. Second, President Bush has appointed Ambassador Negroponte to be director of directors for America's intelligence agencies. Negroponte has two sides. On the one hand, he loyally carries out whatever policy those above him wish him to. (He might or might not have told Bush the truth about Iraq: he finds out what is expected and then does it.) On the other hand, he has been the coldest of cold warriors. He resigned from a Vietnam policy position in the 1970s because he felt Kissinger had sold out the South Vietnamese (he did, but the importance with which he took this does show a rather unusual stance). As Ambassador in Honduras, he was according to those who worked with him at the time, notably unconcerned with the actions of the groups associated with the United States in the anti-communist struggle. The ambassador that preceded him in Honduras has accused him of discouraging reporting to Washington of torture, abductions or killings by the units he was supporting. Although an ambassador, he seemed actually to be part of the CIA in this position. As another acquaintance has said, Negroponte thought that to defeat the Russians in the Cold War anything was permissible. There is a fear that in the present fearful climate of the so-called "war on terror", he will evince the same kind of attitude.