Secretary says Bolton will lead U.N. shake-up

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Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said yesterday she expects John R. Bolton, Washington's ambassador-designate to the United Nations, to lead an overdue shake-up of that organization.

"John Bolton was my first choice," Miss Rice told editors and reporters in an interview at The Washington Times.

"I think John is a straightforward, tough-talking, very good diplomat, and I think that's what you need at the United Nations."

Mr. Bolton has been an outspoken critic of the United Nations.

In 1994, he said in a speech that if "the U.N. Secretariat building in New York lost 10 stories, it wouldn't make a bit of difference."

Today, that remark is being widely circulated, especially on Capitol Hill, where some congressmen vow to challenge Mr. Bolton during the hearings and debate over his confirmation.

Opponents acknowledge, however, that they lack the votes to block his appointment.

Mr. Bolton's selection by President Bush for the Cabinet-level post comes as the United Nations confronts extensive criticism. It is being assailed for corruption in the Iraq oil-for-food program, its inability to enforce Security Council resolutions and sexual abuses by its peacekeepers.

U.N. leaders acknowledge that the organization has problems, and have pledged to improve it.

"You've got the whole U.N. operation saying it needs reform, and to have somebody who has thought about these issues, who is critical of many things about the U.N. about which, frankly, it is right to be critical" is useful, Miss Rice said.