The Shakeup Continues
ABC News is reporting that Zal Khalilzad, the current US Ambassador to Iraq, will be President Bush’s nominee to be the US Ambassador to the UN. If confirmed, he’ll replace John Bolton, who was named to that post via a recess appointment after Democrats filibustered a final vote on Bolton’s nomination.
ABC News has learned that President Bush will nominate Zalmay Khalilzad to be the new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Khalilzad is currently the U.S. ambassador to Iraq. The announcement may come as soon as tomorrow. Khalilzad’s departure from Baghdad will happen as soon as he is confirmed as U.N. ambassador.
I suspect that Democrats will use Khalilzad’s confirmation hearing as an opportunity to carp about Bush policy but that he’ll easily win confirmation once the bitching stops. Here’s the other bit of news from the ABC article:
Ryan Crocker, currently the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, will be nominated to replace Khalilzad in Baghdad. Khalilzad has been U.S. ambassador to Iraq since June 2005. He is the highest ranking Muslim in the U.S. government and one of the few officials at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad fluent in Arabic.
I suspect that Sen. Biden will enjoy playing such a prominent role early in the 110th Congress. That’s because he thinks of himself as being a viable candidate for President. The sad truth is that he’s much like John Kerry: He’s a legend in his own mind. He’s a good enough guy and he certainly isn’t part of the ‘Blame America for Everything’ crowd but he simply is an airhead. He fancies himself a thinker but his original thinking brought forth the idea of dividing Iraq into three distinct regions to accommodate the Kurds in the north, the Sunnis in Central Iraq and the Shi’ites in southern Iraq. Most serious people listened politely, then went back to ignoring him.
Technorati Tags: Khalilzad, UN, Joe Biden, John Kerry, Iraq, Shiites
Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog