Posted on 05/06/2005 3:34:07 PM PDT by SmithL
WASHINGTON, (AP) --
John R. Bolton, nominated to be U.N. ambassador, vastly overrated the military might of Syria and Cuba and had to be talked into toning down his assessments, a former senior intelligence official told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee staff Friday.
Robert L. Hutchings, who was responsible for coordinating American intelligence assessments in 2003, told the committee staff he felt Bolton was intent on drawing conclusions in public speeches that were "politicized" and exceeded U.S. intelligence on both countries, said a committee source, speaking on condition of anonymity.
In another interview, former Secretary of State Colin Powell's chief of staff, Larry Wilkerson, questioned Bolton's leadership skills and disputed the view that the undersecretary of state was brilliant, committee sources told The Associated Press.
Wilkerson told committee aides that Powell — who has not endorsed Bolton for the U.N. job — would "go down to the bowels of the building" to try to boost the morale of analysts who had clashed with Bolton. Bolton has been accused of berating subordinates who disagreed with his views.
Melody Townsel, a Dallas public relations consultant who called Bolton "pathological" in a letter to the committee last month, softened her criticism in an April 26 interview with the committee.
A transcript of her interview, obtained Friday by The Associated Press, described Bolton as pounding on her Moscow hotel door 11 years ago when they both worked for private companies.
"No matter where I went in this hotel, if he saw me (he) began to approach me rapidly," she told the committee. "If I saw him in the breakfast bar, he would make a beeline for me."
Previously, she said Bolton had chased her through the hotel's halls. But now, Townsel said "chasing may not be the best word"
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
I wish the liberals would stop their garbage digging. It's really pathetic.
Yes it is pathetic, and continues to prove what whining little children they are.
This is all coming from Biden and Dodd and it's about Cuba.
More and more it is clear that Powell went along with opinion at State rather than at the Whote House. It seems clear that State did everythging in its power to thwart the move into Iraq and alllowed state to drag its feet.
According to FOX - it's the staff members of Dodd and Biden who are keeping this stirred up over Bolton.
Otto Reich, a former assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, told the committee Friday that he — not Bolton — had tried to get a CIA analyst transferred. He said Pentagon, CIA and State Department officials agreed the analyst's work was substandard.
Bolton Criticized by Former Intel Official By BARRY SCHWEID, AP Diplomatic Writer
26 minutes ago
John R. Bolton, nominated to be U.N. ambassador, vastly overrated the military might of Syria and Cuba and had to be talked into toning down his assessments, a former senior intelligence official told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee staff Friday.
Robert L. Hutchings, who was responsible for coordinating American intelligence assessments in 2003, told the committee staff he felt Bolton was intent on drawing conclusions in public speeches that were "politicized" and exceeded U.S. intelligence on both countries, said a committee source, speaking on condition of anonymity.
In another interview, former Secretary of State Colin Powell's chief of staff, Larry Wilkerson, questioned Bolton's leadership skills and disputed the view that the undersecretary of state was brilliant, committee sources told The Associated Press.
Wilkerson told committee aides that Powell — who has not endorsed Bolton for the U.N. job — would "go down to the bowels of the building" to try to boost the morale of analysts who had clashed with Bolton. Bolton has been accused of berating subordinates who disagreed with his views.
Melody Townsel, a Dallas public relations consultant who called Bolton "pathological" in a letter to the committee last month, softened her criticism in an April 26 interview with the committee.
A transcript of her interview, obtained Friday by The Associated Press, described Bolton as pounding on her Moscow hotel door 11 years ago when they both worked for private companies.
"No matter where I went in this hotel, if he saw me (he) began to approach me rapidly," she told the committee. "If I saw him in the breakfast bar, he would make a beeline for me."
Previously, she said Bolton had chased her through the hotel's halls. But now, Townsel said "chasing may not be the best word" although "I definitely felt chased."
Otto Reich, a former assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, told the committee Friday that he — not Bolton — had tried to get a CIA analyst transferred. He said Pentagon, CIA and State Department officials agreed the analyst's work was substandard.
The interviews coincided with the State Department's delivery of what one official said was a voluminous batch of documents sought by committee Democrats, who hope to kill Bolton's nomination.
The panel's senior Democrat, Sen. Joseph R. Biden (news, bio, voting record) Jr. of Delaware, warned this week that if the department failed to provide the requested material he might try to delay a committee vote on Bolton set for next Thursday.
Tom Casey, a State Department spokesman, said the department was "cooperating fully" with the committee, but did not say if the Democrats would get everything they wanted.
Affirming that he had called Bolton as an "abysmal choice" for the U.N. post, Wilkerson said Bolton went so far in his speeches that he was ordered to clear them with him or the office of Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage.
The former Powell aide said Bolton was too aggressive in pushing sanctions against Chinese companies for spreading weapons technology and "overstepped the bounds" in the way he tried to block a third term for Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency.
___
Oh, right; they're not acting for Biden and Dodd.
Look at this:
From 2001:
Appoint Otto Reich
As the following editorial published in the Wall Street Journal on 13 December 2001 makes clear, the only reason Amb. Reich has not been on duty before now is because of an ideological vendetta waged against him by Senator Christopher Dodd, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Western Hemisphere Affairs Subcommittee. Even as ominous economic, political and/or strategic developments in Latin American nations like Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Mexico and Peru have demanded expert and competent leadership from the U.S. government, Sen. Dodd has blocked the Reich nomination. Worse yet, he has maliciously sullied the name of the man President Bush knows can provide such leadership while denying Amb. Reich a hearing in which to rebut false charges. The Senator's motivation is transparent: He fears such a hearing would demonstrate to the world that it is Chris Dodd's deplorable record on hemispheric affairs -- not Otto Reich's estimable one -- that should be subjected to critical reviews.
Now that Sen. Dodd and his colleagues have finally left town, Mr. Bush should exercise his constitutional prerogative to make a recess appointment for Ambassador Reich to his State Department post. By so doing, he can simultaneously end a travesty of congressional abuse of power and give the Nation a man whose talents and abilities are more needed with every passing day.
http://64.233.187.104/search?q=cache:n9z4FDKGgskJ:www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org/index.jsp%3Fsection%3Dpapers%26code%3D01-F_86+Janice+O%27Connell+Chris+dodd&hl=en
She demanded that his statement that it was HE who wanted the guy fired be removed from the record!
And he said it was Biden and Dodd's STAFF that is doing all the leaking and smearing!
"This is all coming from Biden and Dodd and it's about Cuba"
I was thinking Dodd. Any Cuba fellow-travellers on his staff?
Reich seemed to indicate that most of the trash was coming from Dodd's staff, although he did mention Biden's staff too.
Did you get the name of that staff member. They made a correction later in the program.
I don't believe it. I find it hard to believe that lower level analysts would be briefing a SES level executive on anything.
"Wilkerson told committee aides that Powell — who has not endorsed Bolton for the U.N. job — would "go down to the bowels of the building" "
Sounds very much like the early leaks about Bush officials in the State and/or CIA buildings, often with Cheney as the pursuer.
Wilkerson's a talky guy. Still for me suspect no. 1 as the first leaker to Novak.
Janice O'Connell.
I agree 100 percent; she wants the limelight; let's give it to her. (Use a hose if we have to)
Janice O'Connell.
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