|
Colin Powell's Former Chief Of Staff Calls John Bolton An "Abysmal" Pick To Be UN Ambassador
We talk to Steve Clemons of the TheWashingtonNote.com and John
Nichols of The Nation about a series of allegations concerning
Bolton abusing his authority at the State Department and
Bolton's role in securing George W. Bush's victory during the
2000 Florida recount.
Broadcast - 04/14/05
Listen to Segment
|| Download Show
mp3
Watch
128k stream Watch
256k stream
vote on the nomination of John Bolton to serve as President
Bush"s ambassador to the United Nations is scheduled for
today. The New York Times reports the top Democrat on the
Committee -- Joseph Biden of Delaware –- is planning to ask
the vote be delayed. A series of new allegations of Bolton
abusing his power at the State Department have emerged since the
committee last met. Much of the two-days of hearings last week
focused on allegations that Bolton threatened intelligence
analysts who disagreed with him and sought to have them removed
after they challenged his claims about security threats posed by
various countries. Since then, reports have emerged that --
during his time at the State Department -- Bolton often blocked
then-Secretary of State Colin Powell and, on one occasion, his
successor, Condoleezza Rice, from receiving information vital to
U.S. strategies on Iran. Powell was not among a group of five
Republican former secretaries of state who sent the committee a
letter that endorsed Bolton"s nomination. On Monday,
Powell’s former chief of staff Lawrence Wilkerson spoke out in
opposition to Bolton. He told the New York Times "He is
incapable of listening to people and taking into account their
views. He would be an abysmal ambassador."
During last week’s hearings, Bolton acknowledged making 10
requests, over four years, for names of U.S. officials whose
conversations with foreigners were monitored by the National
Security Agency.
Every Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is
expected to vote against Bolton. If one Republican joins them,
Bolton’s confirmation will be blocked. Republican Senator
Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island has said he is uncommitted, and
over the weekend, Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska said he had
some reservations. But the panel’s Republican chairman,
Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana, said he expects all 10
Republicans ultimately to vote in favor of the nomination.
To talk further about John Bolton we are joined on the line
by Steven Clemons. He is the publisher of the popular political
blog, TheWashingtonNote.com.
He is a Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation where he
co-directs the American Strategy Program.
- Steven Clemons, publisher of the popular political
blog, TheWashingtonNote.com.
He is a Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation where he
co-directs the American Strategy Program. For seven years,
Clemons served as Executive Director of the Japan America
Society of Southern California and co-founded the Japan
Policy Research Institute with Chalmers Johnson.
Another aspect of Bolton’s career that has been largely
overlooked in the corporate media is his role in the 2000
presidential recount. John Nichols of The Nation magazine posted
this in his blog "The Online Beat" last week:
"Bolton was one of the pack of lawyers for the Republican
presidential ticket who repeatedly sought to shut down recounts
of the ballots from Florida counties before those counts
revealed that Gore had actually won the state’s electoral
votes and the presidency.
"The December 9 [2000] intervention was Bolton’s last
and most significant blow against the democratic process."
John Nichols joins us on line now from Madison, Wisconsin.
- John Nichols, Washington correspondent for The
Nation Magazine and author of the
The Online Beat on The Nation website.
To purchase an audio or video copy of this entire program, click
here for online ordering or call 1 (800) 881-2359.
(In accordance with Title 17
U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit
to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the
included information for research and educational purposes.
Information Clearing House has no affiliation whatsoever with
the originator of this article nor is Information Clearing House
endorsed or sponsored by the originator.) |
