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Bush's Non-proliferation Non-initiative
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Matt Yglesias reminds us that the nomination of John Bolton to become the Ambassador of the UN is a really bad idea. It's worth mentioning that the PSI isn't really as much of a bright spot on the Bush administration's counterproliferation efforts as Matt makes it out to be. The PSI, as he points out has no new legal authority. What's more, it does not represent any new money being spent on counterproliferation. Here's a note on how they fits into the budget process from the State Department's FAQ:

Question: What is the relationship between PSI and International Organizations, such as the UN?

A: The PSI is not envisioned as a formal organization with a budget and headquarters, but rather a collection of interdiction partnerships among interested states taking steps consistent with their respective national legal authorities and international law and frameworks.

No new money, no new statutory authority. Awesome.

The Bush administration's utter indifference towards nuclear proliferation continues to puzzle me. The only rational explanation I can come up with is that they believe anti-proliferation efforts aren't cost effective -- countries that want will get nukes, and countries that don't won't, whether or not we spend a few billion dollars trying to make it harder. Of course, one should never make the mistake of thinking the Bush administration has a rational motivation for any particular policy stance.

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Last updated by Nicholas Beaudrot on 08:14 14 March 2005