David Corn - Negroponte & Bolton: Beating the Democrats?

[realFedUp]

(Can the Dems be this stupid?)

http://www.thenation.com/capitalgames/index.mhtml?bid=3&pid=2317

Negroponte & Bolton: Beating the Democrats?
04/12/2005 @ 4:45pm
David Corn

It wasn't quite a gathering of storms. But in two different Senate meeting rooms on the same morning, committees were holding hearings on two controversial picks for George W. Bush's national security team. As the Senate intelligence committee questioned--yes, questioned, not grilled--former ambassador John Negroponte, whom Bush has nominated to be the new director of national intelligence position, the Senate foreign relations committee took the testimony of a former assistant secretary of state who maintained that John Bolton, Bush's choice to be UN ambassador, had imperiously tried to fire a State Department analyst who had challenged Bolton's contention that Cuba posed a WMD threat to the United States. The pair of hearings exposed--to a limited degree--the failings of each nominee. But they also demonstrated that there is probably not enough opposition to derail either appointment.

At the intelligence committee gathering, Republicans praised Negroponte--and so did some Democrats. Senator Jay Rockefeller, the senior Democrat on the committee, cited Negroponte's 40-year career as a diplomat and gushed, "This breeds a tough and disciplined man of self-esteem and a willingness to make decisions and tell truth to power....You've ably served the country." Rockefeller did not mention the well-supported allegation that Negroponte, when he was ambassador to Honduras in the 1980s, downplayed and smothered reports of human rights abuses conducted by the Honduran military, his partner in providing assistance to the contra rebels fighting the Sandinista government in Nicaragua. When Negroponte was ambassador to Honduras and ever since, he has denied that he covered up abuses or that the Honduran military engaged in systemic human rights violations. But a 1997 CIA inspectors general report and Honduran investigations have concluded the Honduran military committed serious human rights atrocities during Negroponte's tenure. The CIA IG noted, "The Honduran military committed hundreds of human rights abuses since 1980, many of which were politically motivated and officially sanctioned." It also noted that an infamous CIA-trained military outfit, Battalion 316, was linked to "death squad activities." As ambassador, Negroponte toiled side by side General Gustavo Alvarez, the Honduran strongman who was the architect of Battalion 316.

This may be ancient history, but hours before Negroponte sat down before the intelligence committee, The Washington Post published an article based on hundreds of previously secret cables Negroponte sent to Washington when he was ambassador in Tegucigalpa. The records show that he regularly met with Alvarez. In one cable, Negroponte praised Alvarez's "dedication to democracy." (Alvarez was kicked out by his fellow militarists in 1984 for being too much of an authoritarian.) Negroponte's support for the fellow who oversaw a battalion that engaged in kidnapping, torture and murder never wavered. And the Post reported, "There is little in the documents...to support assertion that he used 'quite diplomacy' to persuade the Honduran authorities to investigate the most egregious violations, including the mysterious disappearance of dozens of government opponents."

So these documents buttress the case that Negroponte tried to ignore or cover up human rights abuses committed by his ally in the contra war. Yet they received little attention at his confirmation hearing. Negroponte did not refer to the Honduras controversy during his opening remarks. Senator Orrin Hatch, a Republican, asserted that Negroponte had shown "compassion for the Honduran people." (Hatch also quipped that since Negroponte had been confirmed by the Senate for seven previous positions, it "seems to me we don't even need this hearing.") Rockefeller, after hailing Negroponte, referred to the Post article, noting he and his aides had not had the "chance to review the documents." He then asked a weak question about Negroponte's use of back-channel communications when he was in Honduras. Negroponte said this all had been examined in 1989 when he was appointed to be US ambassador to Mexico. And Senator Pat Roberts, the Republican chairman of the committee, mused aloud, "the timing of
continued

[acmavm]

1. Bottom Line: Anyone who votes to confirm this degenerate is as

morally bankrupt and corrupt as he is. End of discussion.

[realFedUp]

2. I agree

we haven't moved to the center...we've moved
to a degeneracy.

[carnie_sf]

3. I am outraged

that these corrupt, murderous bastards are even being considered for posts in MY governement. The whole lot should be in jail, especially Negroponte.

[realFedUp]

4. the whole lot should be in front of an international court

IMO

but no this is an American crime family
who hires it's own.

[struggle4progress]

5. How many years of your life are you willing to commit ...

... for the pleasure of seeing some of these disgraceful thugs hauled up on charges? It might be something that could be accomplished, with enough people involved for enough time. But we would really need to agitate, educate, and organize ...