John Bolton, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, is one of two Americans who have been nominated for the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize. | "I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced." |
Bolton and Kenneth R. Timmerman were formally nominated by Sweden's former deputy prime minister Per Ahlmark, for playing a major role in exposing Iran's secret plans to develop nuclear weapons.
| Will the left now attack Sweden's embassies for this outrage against their most beloved award? |
Bolton formerly served as U.S. undersecretary for arms control and international security, and he authored the Proliferation Security Initiative, an international effort to block WMD shipments. The effort eventually unmasked the secret nuclear network directed by Pakistan nuclear scientist A. Q. Khan.
Timmerman, an independent researcher, has written extensively on Iran's nuclear activities for more than 20 years. His report for the Simon Wiesenthal Center in 1992 first detailed Iran's ties to A.Q. Khan. His most recent book, "Countdown to Crisis: The Coming Nuclear Showdown with Iran," was published last year.
In June 2005, Senate Republicans fell six votes in their second effort to end a Democrat filibuster of Bolton's nomination to serve as U.N. ambassador. Bolton's supporters complained that Bolton was the target of a Democrat smear campaign. A number of Democrats and some Republicans complained about Bolton's brusque dealings with co-workers and underlings. One of Bolton's Republican critics - Sen. George Voinovich of Ohio - now says he thinks Bolton is doing a good job. "I spend a lot of time with John on the phone. I think he is really working very constructively to move forward," Reuters quoted Voinovich as saying on Monday. Voinovich added that he's still watching Bolton - but, "at this stage of the game I am pleased with the progress that is being made here and the team that he has gathered together here."
In May 2006, the thought that Bolton might be confirmed as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations almost brought Voinovich to tears. Voinovich's emotional moment came one day after he sent a letter to his fellow senators, telling them, "In these dangerous times, we cannot afford to put at risk our nation's ability to successfully wage and win the war on terror with a controversial and ineffective ambassador to the United Nations."