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North
Korea: 1 USA: 0
Undersecretary John Bolton banned from participating in six-way arms talks in Beijing later this month
Wednesday
August 13, 2003
ALEXANDRIA,
VA - American Conservative Union Executive Director Richard
Lessner expressed his dissatisfaction with the Bush Administration's
recent decision to exclude Undersecretary of State for Arms Control
and National Security John Bolton from the upcoming Beijing six-way
arms talks. Lessner called the Administration's lockout of Bolton,
"a ridiculous capitulation to Kim Jong Il's birdbrained attempts
at nuclear blackmail."
"Undersecretary
Bolton is a public official-and one of the few, unfortunately-who
get it," said Lessner. "His recognition of a brutal Communist
dictatorship, combined with his willingness to educate the free-thinking
world of North Korea's atrocious record on everything from nuclear
arms to running a tyrannical police state, makes Bolton a courageous
and pivotal leader in America's war against the 'Axis of Evil.'"
"However,"
continued Lessner, "the White House's loss of Undersecretary
Bolton's sharp and hard-nosed resolve in the upcoming talks in Beijing
is more than disappointing: it is outright dangerous. Conservatives
know it was former President Ronald Reagan's fearlessness and determination
that was the catalyst for Communism's demise. Bolton espouses a
brilliantly updated 21st Century-version of Reagan's anti-Communist
intrepidness that will prove to be the most reliable card we can
play against this pathetic remnant of Soviet-style authoritarianism.
"An
administration that wants to be taken seriously by conservatives
cannot one day be completely supportive of Undersecretary Bolton's
hard-line, and then lock him out of negotiations the next day. I
sincerely hope that the State Department will reconsider and let
this true friend of freedom sit at the table," concluded Lessner.
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To schedule an interview with ACU Executive Director
Richard Lessner, contact Ian Walters at (703) 836-8602 x16, or by
email at iwalters@conservative.org
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