Trying to find out the U.S. officials named in the NSA intercepts is going to be complicated and difficult — particularly because they are highly classified and also because the State Department and Bush administration are working over-time to try and prevent Members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from seeing them.
I just caught this item this morning on Stygius. Not only were the British furious over Libya, but also over Iran. Bolton has been a one-man wrecking crew undermining American national security diplomacy and angering friends.
My colleague and friend Robert Wright has an outstanding op-ed in the New York Times today that should remind everyone that the real reason for opposing John Bolton is that he has Neanderthal policy positions when it comes to dealing with the country’s largest national security problems.
Credit: Dan Wasserman, Boston Globe, 26 April 2005 — Steve Clemons
Strangely enough, David Frum has written an article in Canada’s Financial Post on John Bolton with which I agree about 90%. Here is how the first bit runs: On Friday, the battle over John Bolton’s nomination as U.S.
John Bolton seems to have inflated virtually every threat into which his office came into contact. I take that back. He seems to have underestimated the threat of potential rogue nuclear materials in Russia as Senators Pete Domenici (R-NM) and Peter Fitzgerald (R-IL) questioned his delinquency on that front several years ago.
Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice spoke in Crawford, Texas today and encouraged the Senate to move forward on the Bolton nomination, suggesting that State had been extremely compliant in providing the material the Senate had requested on John Bolton. This is not true.
Senator Chafee committed to a more vigorous and aggressive investigation of all aspects of John Bolton’s background and behavior, and yet in the last several days, there is no evidence that Chafee has done anything to move from his passive stance on Bolton.
Anyone who reads my blog will know that I’m not very good at humor. I attended an interesting meeting today and met Duncan Black who publishes one of the biggest-reach blogs, Eschaton, and noted that when people read his stuff, they get great one-liners.
My problems with John Bolton are about serious “loose cannon” behavior in the realm of national security and foreign policy — but I have to admit that what has popularized John Bolton as a household name (well. . .almost) are questions about his treatment of people in the workplace.