WP: Bolton Faces Allegations That He Tried to Fire Analysts (new charge)

[Pirate Smile]

Bolton Faces Allegations That He Tried to Fire Analysts

By Dafna Linzer
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, April 15, 2005; Page A17

In 2003, John R. Bolton, President Bush's choice for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, ordered a young official working closely with then-Secretary of State Colin L. Powell removed from duties in the State Department's nonproliferation bureau in what U.S. officials described as a third attempt by Bolton to purge career officials he perceived as impeding his policy goals.

The officials, who would discuss the incident only on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss it, said Rexon Ryu, an expert on nonproliferation issues in the Middle East, was transferred to another bureau after he failed to produce a document requested by Bolton's chief of staff.

Bolton, undersecretary of state for arms control and international security for the past four years, reportedly accused Ryu of concealing the information and of insubordination. One of the officials recalled Bolton saying that he had a file on Ryu and did not want him to work on issues he was involved in.

John Wolf, Ryu's former boss, said that Ryu was a brilliant and dedicated civil servant, and that the allegations were found to be baseless.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54774-2005Apr14.html

[whistle]

1. And was first person off the airplane in 2000 in Tallahassee FL....

...to stop the recount votes.

[MO_Dem]

2. Awright!

Keep up the good work! Let's have the full story on this bum.

[Pirate Smile]

5. Look at what I just saw over at DailyKos

Steve Clemons quotes the plugged in Nelson Report suggesting that new John Bolton scandals may emerge over the weekend:

Diaries :: pontificator's diary :: :: Trackback ::

There seems to be in-fighting over the previously gentlemanly agreement between Chairman Lugar and Ranking Dem Biden, and it's not clear if the Dem's threat to filibuster Bolton next week is serious, or a holding play to give State Department career professionals more time to come forward with evidence proving charges that Bolton falsified testimony prepared for Condi Rice, and/or took classified intel from the NSA to try and punish then-DPRK negotiator Jack Pritchard, among the stories circulating today.
It also sounds like Rhode Island Sen. Lincoln Chafee is starting to realize that if he's 20 points down now for reelection, standing by Bolton may not be a smart move. So stay tuned. . .all it takes is one Republican committee defection to kill the nomination.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/4/14/2222/71217

[Algorem]

3. Dodd-

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/international/jan-june05/bolton_4-14.html

"...My opposition and my concern about Mr. Bolton therefore has nothing to do with Cuba, arms control, or the United Nations. In fact, I agree with some of Mr. Bolton's conclusions about the United Nations. I have no problem with that at all.(Why NOT?)
My concern is this: That on at least five different occasions over the past forty-eight months, Mr. Bolton, as an undersecretary of state at the State Department, tried to remove at least two intelligence analysts because they concluded different positions than Mr. Bolton wanted to express in public speeches..."

[napi21]

4. Do you really think that more of this kind of thing is going to make

the Pubs not vote for this guy? I'm not sure. They all seem to be sooo intent on supporting Shrub's wishes...no matter what!

I really hope I'm wrong. I sent an email to each member of the Committee on Wed. exp;aining that I didn't believe this man was capable of diplomacy, and that was a prime requisit of a UN Ambassador.

I got 2 auto responses, but I did get a written response from Norm Coleman. He said he believed we needed a strong person to push through UN reform, and he felt Bolton was just the personality to do just that. He was very proper, and used nice words, but basically said, I'me voting for him because that's what the Prez wants.