US: Democrats argued successfully last night for a delay in voting on President George Bush's nomination of John Bolton as US ambassador to the UN, so they could present new allegations showing he was unfit for the job.
A meeting of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee decided last night to delay by up to two weeks a decision on the nomination of the hawkish State Department official who has expressed disdain for the UN and has been accused of abusing intelligence staff.
Democratic Senator Chris Dodd suggested that instead of being promoted, Mr Bolton should be indicted for, on five occasions, seeking the removal of intelligence analysts who disagreed with his hardline analysis. He asked what would have happened if the analysts had not challenged Mr Bolton's unproved assertions that Cuba was developing biological weapons. What actions might be taken by the administration and how many young lives might be lost, Mr Dodd demanded angrily of the committee.
Before yesterday's meeting a top State Department official spoke out against Mr Bolton to say he was unfit for the job. Mr Lawrence Wilkerson, who served as former secretary of state Colin Powell's chief of staff, said Mr Bolton should "absolutely not" be made ambassador to the UN. "He is incapable of listening to people and taking into account their views," he told the New York Times. "He would be in my view an abysmal ambassador." Mr Powell has refused to publicly support the nomination of Mr Bolton. Senator Joseph Biden, in an angry attack on Mr Bolton, accused him of being untruthful in his testimony to the committee. He accused him of not telling the truth when saying he "lost confidence" in an analyst he wanted removed.
"Does he expect us to believe this stuff," asked Mr Biden. Mr Bolton was also telling untruths when he said he called at the CIA "on the way home" to raise the issue of an analyst's conclusions, whereas in fact he had made specific appointments to have the analysts removed, Mr Biden said.
The White House said yesterday that President Bush had no second thoughts about John Bolton as his choice for the UN. This was seen as a signal to stiffen the resolve of two wavering Republican senators on the committee, which has a 10-8 Republican majority.
Committee chairman Richard Lugar said he saw no reason to delay the vote. "I do not think the concerns raised about Secretary Bolton warrant our rejection of the president's selection for his own representative to the UN" he said.
Most of the eight Democrats said they planned to vote against Mr Bolton. Two of the 10 Republicans, Senators Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska , said they had reservations, and Senator Nagel said he would vote for Mr Bolton on committee but may not do so in the full Senate. By a 10-8 vote the committee rejected Senator Dodd's motion for a closed session so the committee could hear from intelligence officials about information Mr Bolton requested relating to National Security Agency communications. Senator Dodd said he knew the identities of 10 US officials involved in such secret NSA interceptions during the past four years.
Democrats also wanted more information about Mr Bolton's dealings with a female employee during his time at the Justice Department. The two clashed over the woman's request for extended maternity leave.