Guest blogger Steve Clemons over at Talking Points Memo provides "a leaked copy of U.S. comments on the draft document for the Millenium Summit in September." According to Clemons, the deletions (of which there are A LOT) on the side of the document "are John Bolton's personal draft modification suggestions."
Now as one who cuts copy for a living, I have some sympathy for Mr. Bolton. It doesn't seem likely that the Millenium Summit has to take "word counts" into consideration, but if you can trim a little and make the pronouncement leaner, then I'm sure the gathered dignitaries will appreciate getting out of the meeting (and back to their limos and champagne) a few minutes earlier.
But some of the cuts seem a bit much. Such as:
* On Page 1: When reaffirming the core "values and principles" of the U.N., did we really need to excise "respect for nature" from the list of other qualities like freedom, equality, and the rule of law?
* On Page 2: When reaffriming the "protection of human rights…for all," was it necessary to knock out the following specifier: "in particular, women and children"?
* On Page 4: When promoting the UN Convention Against Corruption, why feel the need to delete "corporate responsibility and accountability" from the list of policies to be emphasized?
It's actually far, far worse than this. To believe the number Bolton does on debt relief plans, you really need to see it for yourself. Read Clemons' post, and get to the available link by clicking here.
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Brian Cook was an editor at In These Times from 2003 to 2009. He now works on the editorial staff of Playboy magazine.
