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The latest overnight revelations? Bolton's suppression of Iran intelligence from two Secretaries of State. Rice now excluding Bolton from Iran debate.
A quite well-informed reader responds to the latest Bolton revelations:
And don't miss Steve Clemons' line into the half dozen NSA intercepts that Bolton requested to spy on his colleagues at State. Clemons writes that he "...has learned that what is being provided to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee are 'summaries' of the super secret transcripts Bolton looked at. [I] suggest that the Committee staff read what Bolton read. Read the intercepts. Don't give any parties the ability to smudge over or hide what Bolton was up to."...I find it very interesting the one sentence here that Rice has excluded Bolton from discussions on Iran. That issue arguably is the most important item in the portfolio of the Undersecretary for Arms Control and International Security, Bolton's current position. If the Secretary of State does not have confidence in Bolton to do his current job, what makes her think he would be an effective UN Ambassador? [...]
This nomination, and the media coverage surrounding it, is quickly reaching critical mass -- the drip-drip of daily revelations is telling. If the Dems can succeed in having tomorrow's vote delayed, then for the first time, I would rate the likelihood that Bolton will be defeated as more likely than not. It's clear that civil servants at State and other political opponents of Bolton who have been bullied and intimidated for the past four years now view this time as open season on Bolton -- and are spilling everything to the press. I doubt that a Chuck Hagel or a Linc Chafee can justify a yes vote with another week's worth of news coverage. So the committee vote tomorrow is really key -- if it happens, then Bolton may still skate by with the skin of his teeth.
In response to your question posted online, it's clear who Bolton is working for -- always has been: the Vice President. Bolton was appointed to his current position as a representative of Cheney and he has treated that position thusly. We all should have recognized early on the frustrations Colin Powell would face in his job when this appointment was foisted upon him in early 2001...
As the evidence becomes overwhelming that John Bolton's bosses and colleagues at State truly don't trust him on the most pressing foreign policy challenge the second Bush administration faces, the Foreign Affairs committee has an awesome responsibility to examine why not, and prevent this nomination from going forward.
Posted by Laura at April 18, 2005 10:31 AM