John Bolton To Leave U.N. Post; Kofi Annan Says Iraq Worse Now Than Under Saddam Hussein

Bush bails on Bolton (Has Bush given up, has he surrendered?)

United States Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton has resigned his position and will step down when his temporary appointment expires in a few weeks. Bolton, whose official nomination to the post was blocked by Democrats and some Republicans for over a year, was a controversial choice from the start; many questioned his brusque style, his history of abusive behavior towards colleagues, and his antagonism towards the U.N. itself. President Bush made him a "recess appointment" in August 2005. But with a Democratic majority set to take power in 2006, Bolton stood literally no chance of being named ambassador. Bush said he accepted Bolton's resignation, sent to the White House via letter last Friday, with "deep regret."

But Bolton's departure isn't the only news rattling the halls of the U.N.: in an interview with the BBC, Secretary-General Kofi Annan described the situation in Iraq as being more dangerous now than it was when Saddam Hussein was in power. "If I were an average Iraqi obviously I would make the same comparison -- that they had a dictator who was brutal but they had their streets, they could go out, their kids could go to school and come back home without a mother or father worrying, 'Am I going to see my child again?'"

Kofi longs for the good old days when Dad could come home from work with his hands missing.