This ran in Al Kamen’s column today: In the fight over John R. Bolton’s nomination to be U.N. ambassador, there’s been a huge fuss over a speech Bolton gave in 2003 in Seoul, which some have suggested was not diplomatic enough and was out of sync with administration policy.
Newsweek‘s Mark Hosenball has a nice clip on what to look for in the upcoming NSA intercepts story this next week: Bolton’s critics are also pressing for details of requests he made for National Security Agency electronic “intercepts” containing the names of U.S. officials.
Some very interesting and thoughtful folks have emailed me today and shared with me their views on why they are so opposed to John Bolton serving as America’s Ambassador to the United Nations.
As reported on Saturday, the National Security Agency has recommended that access be provided to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the ten sets of intercepts of which John Bolton requested to know the names of redacted U.S. official’s names.
I don’t plan to write any more about the private issues of Mr. Bolton. As I have written, I am very uncomfortable with such an approach, but I think that those who are trying to white-wash his past need to know that there are others who have information that won’t be helpful.
Major epic-style exposes are emerging on John Bolton in the Los Angeles Times and New York Times. Although Sonni Efron starts with the countours of battle that existed between Richard Armitage and Colin Powell on one side and Bolton on the other, she then delves into personal vignettes from friends and colleagues, particularly at AEI….
There is so much out there now on John Bolton, and very little of it is positive and validating of Bolton, other than assertions by his fan club here and here. Laura Rozen has done a great job of not only reporting Bolton Battle news but creating context to understand the issues.
The National Security Agency has now recommended that the intercept material and the names of U.S. officials requested by John Bolton be released to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. TWN does not know the terms by which the material will be handled.
If folks feel like making calls, Lamar Alexander would be a good person with whom to have a discussion on John Bolton. His number is (202)224-4944. Senator Alexander is a thoughtful, balanced person.
A. Elizabeth Jones, Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia, publicly stated that John Bolton, her colleague, regularly violated State Department rules on travel and notification of meetings. According to AP’s Barry Schweid, Jones said that Bolton’s behavior was “symptomatic of his determination not to work with other people.