American Enterprise Institute fellow John Bolton, Ambassador to the United Nations from August 2005 to December 2006 and a nominee for the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, appeared as a guest of the Young Leaders Circe on May 7th. Ambassor Bolton presented a riveting discussion inspired by his memoir, Surrender Is Not an Option. In it, he recounts his illustrious career as a lawyer and diplomat who fought to preserve the sovereignty of the United States. Along the way, he provides critical insight into major international dilemmas, such as the nuclear issues surrounding Iran and North Korea and the crisis in Darfur.

The focus of Bolton's discussion, nuclear proliferation among rogue countries, was summarized the following day in his Wall Street Journal oped. Bolton discussed the Bush administrations lackadaisical approach in handling North Korea's nuclear policies and he put a great deal of attention on the reactor North Korea helped Syria build, as well as the high probability that Iran had a hand in the matter. Ambassador Bolton criticized the Bush administration for being naïve in underestimating the threat posed by North Korea. Not only were the Ambassador's comments highly relevant for this election year, but his lessons for maintaining global peace are timeless.

212-599-7000

communications@manhattan-institute.org