Reply #12: Bush's choice for UN faces bullying claims [View All]

[struggle4progress]

<snip> Chaired by the Republican senator Richard Lugar, the Foreign Relations Committee will begin three days of hearings into Mr Bolton's nomination on Monday. In a minority of eight members to 10, all its Democrats will vote against him and must pick up one Republican vote to quash his UN hopes.

All eyes are on the moderate Republican from Rhode Island, Lincoln Chafee, who has indicated that he is under pressure from his constituents to vote against Mr Bolton, a darling of conservatives in Washington. Senator Chafee's aides said yesterday that he remained undecided on what to do. <snip>

Among those accusing Mr Bolton is Carl Ford, a former chief at the department's bureau of intelligence. He is expected to tell the committee that Mr Bolton distorted intelligence gathered on Iraq's weapons programmes and other matters to make it fit the administration's goals.

Senators will also hear allegations made by another State Department official, Christian Westermann, that Mr Bolton ignored his advice that testimony he was about to make to Congress two years ago warning that Cuba was developing biological weapons went beyond available evidence. <snip>

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=627675