John Bolton to U.N. high commissioner: Shut up

By Alex Koppelman

Thursday, Dec. 8, 2005 14:32 EST

George W. Bush has been talking a lot lately about the importance of free societies and open debate. Just the other day, the president said: "It's one of the great strengths of our democracy that we can discuss our differences openly and honestly -- even at times of war. "

Either that kind of freedom has its limits, or somebody forget to get the memo to Bush's new U.N. ambassador. When the U.N. high commissioner for human rights raised questions this week about the treatment of terrorism suspects in U.S. custody, John Bolton responded: "It is inappropriate and illegitimate for an international civil servant to second-guess the conduct that we're engaged in in the war on terror with nothing more as evidence than what she reads in the newspapers."

― Tim Grieve

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