Powell sinks Bolton once and for all

LTC8K6 said:
The NYT and the WaPo, huh?

Well I don't really know, but Powell is probably actually supporting Bolton. :D
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Here's your Fox News version of the story. It might be real. :p
 
Based on the testimony of Carl Ford, former chief of intelligence and research at the State Department and staunch Bush supporter, Bolton sounds like a real piece of work.
The State Department's former intelligence chief testified Tuesday that John R. Bolton was a "serial abuser" of underlings who tried to remove an intelligence analyst who disagreed with him and was "a quintessential kiss-up, kick-down sort of guy."
...
Describing himself as an "enthusiastic supporter" of Bush and his policies, and as a fan of Vice President Dick Cheney, Ford said he felt awkward testifying against the president's nominee. He said he agreed to do so only after committee Democrats suggested that they might subpoena him.
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"There are a lot of screamers in government," Ford said. "I've never seen anyone like Secretary Bolton … in terms of how he abuses little people."
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LA Times
 
Not to disrespect Powell, but why would anyone really care what he thinks? Does his opinion carry that much weight?
 
shecky said:
Not to disrespect Powell, but why would anyone really care what he thinks? Does his opinion carry that much weight?
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Former Sec. of State, highly regarded in Republican circles and liked by many Democrats as well. You would think his opinion would carry some weight. Ha... it will actually depend on whether the person reading that opinion agrees with him. You can bet this opinion won't carry much weight with the Bush faithful while the anit-Bolton crowd will give it much more consideration.
 
shecky said:
Not to disrespect Powell, but why would anyone really care what he thinks? Does his opinion carry that much weight?
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His opinion carries considerable weight among moderate Republicans and some Democrats. The Taliban wing of the GOP wouldn't care about his opinion, but people like McCain or Specter would seriously consider it.
 
The notion of Bolton being confirmed utterly boggles my mind.

We're in the immediate aftermath of a massive intelligence failure. And here we have a poster child for intelligence manipulation.
 
shecky said:
Not to disrespect Powell, but why would anyone really care what he thinks? Does his opinion carry that much weight?
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Plus he gives the dems political cover.
 
hgc said:
Article in NY Times (reg required).

Too bad Colin Powell didn't have this kind of moxie as Secretary of State.
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Impressive. Integrity and independant thought. Is that allowed in a member of the Republican party? He's going to get himself kicked out at this rate.
 
varwoche said:
The notion of Bolton being confirmed utterly boggles my mind.

We're in the immediate aftermath of a massive intelligence failure. And here we have a poster child for intelligence manipulation.
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This is the administration that's been blaming the CIA for all those false claims about Iraq's weapons programs, then turned around and gave director Tennant some high falluting medal. What Bolton did has been pretty consistant with how Bush's people handled any kind of intelligence that didn't agree with their plans. Punish the messanger, and pressure the agencies to tell you what you want to hear.

I think Bolton is Bush's kind of man.
 
The associates said Mr. Powell, in private telephone conversations, had made clear his concerns about Mr. Bolton on several fronts, including his harsh treatment of subordinates.
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"Harsh treatment of subordinates" should make every military and former military member oppose Bolton. But we already know how little military experience the Bush admin has.
 
Josh Marshall makes an interesting point about this all. Powell waited until the Bolton nomination was as good as dead anyway before going public. Something to ponder in terms of his moxie.
 
For me, all the he said/she said about Bolton is irrelevant. I can't get over that stupid moustache, he should be rejected solely on that basis. No one w/ such a moustache should be in any position that requires dining w/ others.
 
Cleon said:
His opinion carries considerable weight among moderate Republicans and some Democrats. The Taliban wing of the GOP wouldn't care about his opinion, but people like McCain or Specter would seriously consider it.
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I think this is the telling aspect of it. Powell is a more moderate republican that doesn't support it telling us that the ones who ARE supporting his nomination are the more extreme right. I think there is important information there.
 
I heard an interesting musing today that Bolton's previous job in the administration was undermining Powell. Since he did such a good job at it he's being rewarded with the UN post. But maybe now Powell can be effective at something for once.
 
More allegations of intelligence manipulation (per unnamed former intel officials): Ex-Officials Say Bolton Inflated Syrian Danger
R. Bolton clashed repeatedly with American intelligence officials in 2002 and 2003 as he sought to deliver warnings about Syrian efforts to acquire unconventional weapons that the Central Intelligence Agency and other experts rejected as exaggerated, according to former intelligence officials.

Ultimately, the former intelligence officials said, most of what Mr. Bolton, then an under secretary of state, said publicly about Syria hewed to the limits on which the C.I.A. and other agencies had insisted. But they said that the prolonged and heated disputes over Mr. Bolton's proposed remarks were unusual within government, and that they reflected what one former senior official called a pattern in which Mr. Bolton sought to push his public assertions beyond the views endorsed by intelligence agencies.

The episodes involving Syria are being reviewed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as part of its inquiries related to Mr. Bolton's nomination to become ambassador to the United Nations.
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varwoche said:
More allegations of intelligence manipulation (per unnamed former intel officials): Ex-Officials Say Bolton Inflated Syrian Danger
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It's so crazy. No one really seems to care that Cheney had this ridiculous plant in the State Dept who was there specifically to push Cheney's, and not Powell's, policies. But everyone is willing to get upset over the fact that this plant looks to be an aggressive lunatic with his underlings. OK, it's great that Voinovich, et al are going to put the stake through his heart, but it would be nice if it were for real malfeasance for once.
 
hgc said:
Josh Marshall makes an interesting point about this all. Powell waited until the Bolton nomination was as good as dead anyway before going public. Something to ponder in terms of his moxie.
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This sort of thing is all too typical of Powell moxie.

A couple of weeks ago when a few former Republican Sec. of States signed a letter supporting the Bolton nomination, Powell did not sign this letter. Hint! Hint!

And now, that the nomination is clearly floundering, Powell is actually saying something in public.

Go figure!
 
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