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Nickdfresh
04-12-2005, 07:47 PM
Ex-intelligence official: Bolton bullied analyst
U.N. nominee blasted at Senate hearing

Tuesday, April 12, 2005 Posted: 2:23 PM EDT (1823 GMT)

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Former State Department official Carl W. Ford Jr. criticizes U.N. nominee John Bolton at Tuesday's hearing.
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WASHINGTON (CNN (http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/04/12/bolton.un/index.html)) -- In testimony Tuesday before a Senate panel, a former State Department official described President Bush's choice for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations as an "800-pound gorilla" who bullied underlings and tried to get an analyst fired in a dispute over intelligence.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is holding a second day of hearings on the nomination of John Bolton, now undersecretary of state for arms control and international security.

Senators questioned Carl W. Ford Jr., a former chief of the State Department's bureau of intelligence and research, about allegations that Bolton tried to have analyst Christian Westermann reassigned because he did not agree with the undersecretary's views about Cuba's weapons capability.

Ford said Bolton was furious after Westermann questioned language he wanted to use in a speech.

"I've never seen anybody quite like Secretary Bolton. ... I don't have a second, third or fourth in terms of the way that he abuses his power and authority with little people," Ford said.

Bolton testified Monday that he never asked for anyone to be punished for the incident and said that he was upset because Westermann went behind his back -- not that he disagreed with him.

Ford said that Bolton should have come to him instead of the analyst.

"There are a lot of screamers that work in the government, but you don't pull someone so low down in the bureaucracy that they are completely defenseless. It's an 800-pound gorilla devouring a banana. The analyst was required simply to stand there and to take it."

Ford told the panel that he later had a heated discussion with Bolton about the matter.

"I left that meeting with the perception that I had been asked for the first time to fire an intelligence analyst for what he had said and done," Ford recalled.

He said he was sufficiently concerned that he talked to then-Secretary of State Colin Powell and Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage.

Democrats grilled Bolton on Monday about the Westermann incident.

On Tuesday, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-California, said, "I think Mr. Bolton needs anger management at a minimum and he does not deserve to be promoted."

Sen. Lincoln Chafee, a moderate Republican from Rhode Island whose vote is expected to be crucial, noted everyone involved "kept their jobs."

Also rising to Bolton's defense, Sens. Norm Coleman, R-Minnesota, and George Allen, R-Virginia, pointed out that Ford wasn't present during the exchange between the analyst and undersecretary.
Democrats grill nominee

Democrats also have questioned Bolton's suitability for the post because of his often blunt criticism of the United Nations.

During Monday's hearing, Boxer confronted Bolton with a videotape of a 1994 speech in which he said that "there is no such thing as the United Nations."

"If the U.N. secretary building in New York lost 10 stories, it wouldn't make a bit of difference," he said during a Federalist Society forum.

Boxer said, "My overall assessment, Mr. Bolton, is that you have nothing but disdain for the United Nations. It's hard for me to know why you'd want to work at an institution that you said didn't even exist."

Bolton defended his comments, telling the panel, "My criticisms during the 1990s were in large measure because of what I thought was the lack of effective American leadership.

"Sadly, there have been times when the General Assembly has gone off track," he said, citing a resolution equating Zionism with racism. "I'm proud to have been an active player in getting this resolution repealed."

The panel's ranking Democrat, Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, said he had "grave concern" about Bolton's nomination.

Biden said that he respected Bolton's abilities and intellectual capacity, but he questioned his judgment and temperament.

"We need a strong voice in New York who knows the U.N. and who can advance our reform agenda. But we don't need a voice which people may not be inclined to listen to," Biden said.

"And I fear that, knowing your reputation -- and your reputation known well at the U.N. -- people will be inclined to tune you out."

In his opening statement to the panel Monday, Bolton said the president and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice were committed to the United Nations, but he stressed the world body requires reform so that scandal doesn't undermine its authority.

If confirmed as the U.S. ambassador, Bolton said he would pursue four priorities: strengthening institutions that bolster democracy and freedom, stemming the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, supporting the war against terrorism and fighting humanitarian crises such as the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Sen. George Allen, a Virginia Republican, called Bolton "the absolute perfect person" for the job.

"You'll bring a credibility to the United Nations that they sorely need," Allen told Bolton.

A vote by the committee could come Thursday, and Republicans hold a 10-8 majority on the panel. The full Senate then would consider the nomination.

If confirmed, Bolton will replace John Danforth, who left in January after less than seven months on the job. In his resignation letter, Danforth cited a desire to spend more time with family and health concerns as his reasons for stepping down.

Anne Patterson, a career foreign service officer, has been the acting U.S. ambassador since Danforth's departure.

Lousy bastard!
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