Robert Joseph, the State Department's senior arms control and security official, has submitted his resignation to President George W. Bush. Joseph's resignation comes as the United States faces stalemate in negotiations with North Korea and Iran over nuclear programs, with talks moving slowly and United Nations sanctions producing limited success. Joseph joined the State Department in 2005 after working on Bush's national security council staff. “After six years of service I have decided it is time to resign,” Joseph said in the letter obtained Thursday by the Associated Press. His departure follows that of several other top diplomatic officials, including Philip Zelikow, a close adviser to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Deputy Secretary Robert Zoellick, and John Bolton, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
