Bush's Bully or Patron of Peace?

From U.S. Newswire:

Two Americans who played a major role in exposing Iran's secret nuclear weapons plans have been nominated for the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize.

United Nations Ambassador John Bolton and longtime Iran investigator Kenneth R. Timmerman were nominated for their repeated warnings and documentation of Iran's secret nuclear buildup and revealing Iran's "repeated lying" and false reports to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Just last year, Bolton was castigated by the Democrats -- and even a few Republican lawmakers -- as a bully and even a warmonger, someone who liberals said could never master the level of diplomacy required for such an important post. As the Cypercast New Service reports:

Last year, Democrats and a few Republicans refused to confirm Bolton to the U.N. post, forcing President Bush to resort to a recess appointment.
...
Bolton's supporters complained that Bolton was the target of a Democrat smear campaign. A number of Democrats and some Republicans complained about Bolton's brusque dealings with co-workers and underlings.

One of Bolton's Republican critics -- Sen. George Voinovich of Ohio -- now says he thinks Bolton is doing a good job. ... "At this stage of the game I am pleased with the progress that is being made here and the team that he has gathered together here."

Of course, the fact that Ambassador Bolton has been nominated for the auspicious award does by no means guarantee he will receive it. In fact, some would say that becoming a Nobel Prize Laureate would put Mr. Bolton in somewhat dubious company. Recent recipients include:

• Mohamed El Baradei (2005), director of the IAEA, who for years denied the suggestion that Iran was working to develop nuclear weapons
• Jimmy Carter (2002), former President of the United States, "for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts"
• Kofi Annan (2001), Secretary General of the United Nations, who worked for years to line the pockets of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, as well as his own, through the "oil-for-food" scandal
• Yassar Arafat (1994), for his "efforts to create peace in the Middle East"

At this rate, maybe they'll just give the prize to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.