LOST in the crowd

Marty Schram flags another,  little noticed, highlight from the  Bolton hearings. The Mustached One has long  opposed something known as the Law of the Seas Treaty (yes, LOST), a convention that tries to get everybody on the same page regarding, you know, rules of the sea. I don't know many details about the law, but I do know that it's supported by everybody from counter-terrorism experts, to the White House, to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.   Among the few exceptions are first-class thinkers like this: "Secret Agenda: Law of the Sea Treaty Will Provide Key “Elements” of “World Government."

Big surprise, Bolton was also one of the opponents, at least until Monday. Here's Schram summarizing the exchange:

When Sen. Paul Sarbanes, D-Md., asked about the treaty, Bolton replied: "The administration has submitted the Law of the Sea Treaty as one of its priorities, and I support that." What was his personal opinion? "Well, I haven't personally read the Law of the Sea Treaty," Bolton said. "I don't think I've ever read it, to be honest with you."

Sarbanes pressed: "Well, now, in an article in a book entitled 'Understanding Unilateralism in American Foreign Relations,' published by the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London, you called the Law of the Sea Treaty 'not only undesirable as a policy, but also illegitimate methods of forcing fundamental policy changes on the United States outside the customary political process.' "

Bolton weaseled: "I don't have the article in front of me, Senator." He explained that President Ronald Reagan was concerned about one provision in the '80s, but Clinton officials "adequately fixed" it in the '90s.

SARBANES: But you wrote this article in 2000.

BOLTON: Right.

So to recap his credentials: Bolton is  a wingnut, a bully,  and not just a liar but a bumbling one.*

* I admit another possibility: Not a bumbling liar, but a brazen one; essentially telling the senators, "Fuck off, I'm getting confirmed anyway."