Bolton meets with critics as vote is delayed

[Judi Lynn]

Bolton meets with critics as vote is delayed
By Sheryl Gay Stolberg The New York Times

SATURDAY, JUNE 18, 2005


WASHINGTON With his nomination as ambassador to the United Nations hanging in the balance, John Bolton made a hurried trip to the U.S. Capitol to meet with two of his chief Democratic critics, and the Senate majority leader, Bill Frist, delayed a vote on the Bolton nomination until Monday.

"Constructive discussions have continued over the course of yesterday and over the course of today," Frist said Thursday, "and that being the case, we have elected to have that vote Monday evening."

But it was not clear whether the impasse, which stems from the Bush administration's refusal to provide Democrats with information relating to Bolton's tenure at the State Department, would be resolved.

Earlier Thursday, Bolton met with the two Democratic critics, Senator Joseph Biden Jr. of Delaware and Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, according to a statement from Dodd's office.
(snip/...)

http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/06/17/news/bolton.php

[GreenArrow]

1. heh heh

Biden...Dodd...critics...heh heh heh...

[RalphReedsWreckedEm]

2. No Bolton. No way. Never.

If the Democrats cave on this psycho anushead I am gonna be one pissed off hombre.....

[Guckert]

3. I say let him in. He will further discredit the Bush team of Brownshirts

with the world community and be one of the first ones fired when Hillary gets into office. He will have no power and no credibility with the U.N.

[Roland99]

5. That's what I was saying last week...let him in. This is why:

Show these chickenhawks for who they are. We know the UN despises this guy. They aren't going to treat Bolton with any respect and surely won't buy into any resolutions to use military force against Iran.

Now, if another person, someone more under the radar but still linked to the PNAC got in, then we'd have reason to be concerned!

[Penance]

23. That's just what they want

They didn't nominate this guy just because of his loyalty. They nominated him to turn the UN into a circus. Walrus Man won't do anything but what he's exceedingly good at: creating animosity. The Bushies will then whine and complain that the UN is worthless, outmoded and obstructionist and do what they want anyway. If they put a real diplomat at the UN, they might actually have to use diplomacy and possibly have to give up something to get what they want. This way, they get what they want and as a bonus get to bash the UN on the talk shows.

[struggle4progress]

26. Exactly right.

[getmeouttahere]

13. I tend to agree with this line of thinking....however...

I just hate to see the world subjected to more BushCo hubris and bullying than they already have to put up with...

maybe the world bodies will stand up to BushCo like the OAS did.

[Supersedeas]

4. what could he possibly say to impact the stand against Executive

obstruction of justice and objection of Congressional oversight.

The WH refusal to comply with a Congressional request for documents is larger than just Bolton's nomination.

[Judi Lynn]

6. Meet John Bolton's Replacement

June 15, 2005

Meet John Bolton's Replacement
Robert "First Strike" Joseph: a Neocon for Nukes
By TOM BARRY

The top U.S. government official in charge of arms control advocates the offensive use of nuclear weapons and has deep roots in the neoconservative political camp . Moving into John Bolton's old job, Robert G. Joseph is the right-wing's advance man for counterproliferation as the conceptual core of a new U.S. military policy. Within the administration, he leads a band of counterproliferationists who-working closely with such militarist policy institutes as the National Institute for Public Policy and the Center for Security Policy-have placed preemptive attacks and weapons of mass destruction at the center of U.S. national security strategy.

Joseph replaced John Bolton at the State Department as the new undersecretary of state for arms control and international security affairs. Like the controversial Bolton, Joseph has established a reputation for breaking or undermining arms control treaties, rather than supporting or strengthening international arms control. Joseph, too, has long believed that U.S. military strategy should be more offensive than defensive.

Over his long career in government service starting soon after receiving his doctorate from Columbia, Joseph has advocated a military policy that extends beyond deterrence to preemptive first strikes. The Bush administration has given free rein to Robert Joseph's militarist and treaty-breaking convictions.

In his positions as special assistant to the president and director for Proliferation Strategy, Counterproliferation, and Homeland Defense, Joseph was a central figure in formulating the U.S. government's new counterproliferation strategy (including launching the Security Proliferation Initiative together with John Bolton). He led the effort to formulate and implement the U.S. National Strategy to Combat Weapons and the U.S. National Strategy for BioDefense.
(snip/...)

http://www.counterpunch.org/barry06162005.html

[leftchick]

9. they just have a never ending cauldron of crud to choose from

what a sick world to have so many evildoers. :(

[Richardo]

7. Great idea...test his diplomatic skills on opponents from his own country

If he can't make THAT sale, he REALLY is unqualified for the job.

[Double T]

8. I sure hope Biden and Dodd don't cave in to their previous demands...

for information related to Bolton when he was at the State Department. The last thing the US needs representing us in the UN is another sociopath bully.

[u2spirit]

10. I wouldn't count on PNAC Joe

to do anything that wasn't in his own interests. he takes playing both sides of the fence to levels rarely seen.

[Double T]

16. You are SO RIGHT about JB.........

sometimes I really believe he is a republican, masquerading as a Democrat.

[Algomas]

25. Who has the contact info for Biden...

We need to swamp him with email insisting that he does not sell us down the river. If anything, I am more disgusted by the behavior of the democratic leadership than with Bu$hco.

[habitual]

11. This very meeting shows his diplomacy skills

as taken from another article:

Dodd's spokeswoman, Stacie Paxton, said the senator asked Bolton to persuade Vice President Dick Cheney to release information the Democrats have requested about National Security Agency intercepts.

She said Bolton had no response. One Democratic official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the session was arranged by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-bolton17jun17,1,4168023.story?coll=la-headlines-politics

He had no response??? did he just sit there quietly looking at them with a blank stare???

[getmeouttahere]

12. probably not quietly....

but the blank look part would be right!

[Judi Lynn]

14. That makes it a meeting only in the strangest sense of the word "meeting"

since he apparently had nothing to communicate. They got to see his strange white mustache, and learned little more!

However, THIS paragraph in your link sounds appropriate:

Republican officials conceded they are unlikely to pick up the two votes they need to reach 60, the number required to force a final confirmation vote on Bolton, a conservative policymaker whose brusque personal style has drawn criticism.

:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

[Catfight]

15. Captain Kangaroo!

http://timstvshowcase.com/kangaroo.html

[Lerkfish]

17. hey! don't malign Cpt. kangaroo!

[Catfight]

19. Come on, he looks exactly like Catain Kangaroo! It's uncanny! nt

[getmeouttahere]

21. Don't agree, and Capt Kangaroo....

or Bob Sheehan, was a WWII hero and even has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

[liveoaktx]

18. "Look you, I'll HAVE YOU FIRED if you don't approve me! "

[gratuitous]

20. The article is dated June 18 (tomorrow)?

Odd. But I suppose it's nothing new for the Times to transport their reporters into the future so they can give us all the benefit of their deathless insights. I just wish Judith Miller had paid a little closer attention to what was about to happen in Iraq when she was reporting on guys in baseball caps, dozens of yards away.

[spotbird]

22. Since he lied under oath

what possible use would an unsworn interview have?

[GalleryGod]

24. Even Money we Dems fold like cheap tents.

:argh:

[AngryWhiteLiberal]

27. Most would have just given up. BOLTON HAS ULTERIOR MOTIVES.

It's VERY clear that Bolton MUST BE IN PLACE AT THE UN for the Shrub Empire to destroy any chance of constructive/successful Iran-nukes talks. Once effectively destroyed, this provides the Shrub Empire the reasoning and means to invade the next Middle Eastern country on their checklist.

God help us if Biden caves in...he's been known to squirrel out of prior tough talk and cooperate with the Repuke criminals when it suited his needs.

JB