Going in, the world knew that John Bolton had a lot of unhappiness with the way the United Nations goes about its business.

So it should come as no surprise that the newly appointed U.S. ambassador has made that attitude known, in a very specific and emphatic way.

Bolton has introduced literally hundreds of amendments, large and small, to a draft document designed to reform the United Nations and stimulate a new round of world activism against injustice, poverty and environmental catastrophe.

Some 175 nations have already signaled preliminary approval of the draft document, and a core group of 32 nations is negotiating on final language that is supposed to be ready in time for a 60th anniversary summit Sept. 14 to 16.

Bolton's primary objective is to get the negotiating ambassadors to offer a "clear, strong declaration" on terrorism.

That's understandable, considering that's the overriding preoccupation right now of the man who sent him to the United Nations, President Bush.

But Bolton proposes literally hundreds of other changes, touching on everything from the environment to multilateral aid, that could destroy a delicately compromised document. It is unclear whether his goal is to rewrite the document to fit U.S. needs first and foremost, or if it is to derail the effort altogether.

It must be acknowledged that Bolton was prevented from getting involved in this process earlier because his appointment was held up in the U.S. Senate. But late or not, his task now should be to see that this thing works.

One of the most outrageous proposals from Bolton is to delete all references to something called the Millennium Development Goals, which aim to cut global poverty by 50 percent by the year 2015.

The focus is on industrialized countries such as the United States, which would be asked to contribute 0.7 percent of their gross national product to foreign aid.

If Bolton prevails, these goals — in the works since the year 2000 — would simply disappear. That would be a major reversal for world aid organizations.

Supporters of the United States like to point out that it sends out more foreign aid today, on a dollar-for-dollar basis, than any other country. Japan is second.

But on a percentage basis, the United States is a far way from that 0.7 percent of gross national product benchmark, which many other nations, including most of Europe, already meet.

Today, the U.S. contributes a tiny 0.16 percent of its national income to foreign aid.

Bolton has a right and obligation to pursue U.S. interests at the United Nations. But he and his allies in Washington should recognize that his job is also to represent the best interests of the world at large.

That is what the United Nations is supposed to be about.