I read the news this morning of John Bolton’s departure from the U.N. with a great sense of relief. After a failed strategy toward Iraq, Iran, North Korea and a wide range of other security issues, the U.S. is finally learning that it needs to take a more diplomatic and collaborative approach to solving global security challenges. Slowly, even the Bush administration appears moving (i.e. being dragged) in this direction and may even come to the table to talk with Iran and Syria. Amidst all this, President Bush has continued singing the praises of John Bolton, who was accurately called by Senator Voinovich “the poster child of what someone in the diplomatic corps should not be.” Bush seemed either not to realize or to willfully ignore that American bullying and unilateralism at the U.N. would continue to undermine the America’s new emphasis on diplomacy in other contexts like Iraq.

Hopefully, Bolton’s departure can open a real conversation in this country about how we harness our unparalleled influence through coalitions to protect our security, rather than the Bolton-style unilateralism that has characterized our foreign policy for the last six years. The Stanley Foundation is holding a conference on precisely this topic in Washington this week to examine how the United States can best leverage its strength to develop a compelling vision for 21st-century leadership. (Click here to learn more about the Stanley Foundation conference.) Let’s hope this conference can create a vision that the next U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. can use to rebuild our image and strength in the world.

Related posts:

1. Goodbye to 2009: The year in review