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Details Emerge on Bolton Conduct
Former U.S. officials interviewed by U.S. Senate staffers have provided additional details of U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton’s conduct toward other federal personnel, particularly those who took stands that diverged from his beliefs, the New York Times reported today (see GSN, May 2). Senate Foreign Relations Committee staffers have conducted more than 12 interviews in recent days as the panel considers Bolton’s nomination as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Former Assistant Secretary of State for Nonproliferation John Wolf discussed three instances in which department personnel came under fire from Bolton. “I believe that it would be fair to stay that some of the officers in my bureau complained that they felt undue pressure to conform to the views of the undersecretary, versus the views that they could support,” Wolf said, according to a transcript of the interview obtained by the Times. Bolton blocked State Department officer Rexon Ryu from receiving an assignment after Ryu apparently mistakenly failed to submit a document to Bolton’s office, Wolf said. The officials also supported claims that Bolton has at times gone beyond intelligence estimates in portraying the WMD dangers posed by North Korea, Syria and Cuba, the Times reported. “John strongly believed that just because the intelligence community had a conclusion on an issue, that didn’t necessarily have to be his view,” said former CIA official Alan Foley (Douglas Jehl, New York Times, May 3). Bolton claimed in November 2001 that Sudan was one of five rogue nations — along with Iran, Iraq, Libya and Syria — suspected of seeking biological weapons, the Boston Globe reported. At the time, the CIA stated only that Sudan “may be interested” in such weapons. The African nation was later dropped from the agency’s list of nations looking at bioweapons, the Globe reported. “I don’t think that it was commonly believed that Sudan had a growing interest in biological weapons,” said former Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control Avis Bohlen. “That was not part of the working assumption” (Farah Stockman, Boston Globe, April 29). Amid the continued allegations surrounding Bolton, the Bush administration is trying to shore up support among Republicans on the Foreign Relations Committee who have expressed concerns about the nomination, the Associated Press reported yesterday. Senator George Voinovich (R-Ohio) is receiving the most attention. The White House is willing to have him meet with Bolton to discuss Voinovich’s concerns on the nominee’s interpersonal skills, AP reported. Senators Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.) and Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) are potentially less likely to oppose Bolton, according to AP. Chafee has said he believes President George W. Bush should be able to choose his own administration. The senator could also need support from the White House as he seeks re-election in 2006, while Hagel might not want to anger Republicans in advance of a potential 2008 run for the presidency (Liz Sidoti, Associated Press/ABC News, May 2). The fourth Republican senator, Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) said she is continuing to investigate the allegations against Bolton. At the moment, she is prepared to support his appointment, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported. “I have not learned anything to date that would change my mind,” Murkowski said (Sam Bishop, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, May 2).
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