Monday, June 06, 2005

AP Probe On Bolton Finds Disturbing Links To Iraq

From the Associated Press:

"NEW YORK John R. Bolton flew to Europe in 2002 to confront the head of a global arms-control agency and demand he resign, then orchestrated the firing of the unwilling diplomat in a move a U.N. tribunal has since judged unlawful, according to officials involved.

A former Bolton deputy says the U.S. undersecretary of state felt Jose Bustani 'had to go,' particularly because the Brazilian was trying to send chemical weapons inspectors to Baghdad. That might have helped defuse the crisis over alleged Iraqi weapons and undermined a U.S. rationale for war."

Wow. The Bush Adminstration sent Bolton to fire a guy who was trying to defuse the Iraq-U.S. conflict by proving that Iraq had no chemical weapons! And now the Bushies want to make Bolton U.N. Ambassador? Is there any significance in the fact that Bolton was sent by the Bushies to keep the Iraq War on schedule while knowing that the U.N. could possibly prove Saddam had no WMD?

"Bolton's handling of the multilateral showdown takes on added significance now as he looks for U.S. Senate confirmation as early as this week as U.N. ambassador, a key role on the international stage, and as more details have emerged in Associated Press interviews about what happened in 2002.

A spokeswoman told AP Bolton, keeping a low profile during his confirmation process, would have no comment for this article.

Bolton has been criticized for supposed bullying of junior U.S. officials and for efforts to get them fired. Bustani, a senior official under the U.N. umbrella, says Bolton used a threatening tone with him and 'tried to order me around.'

An official British document, disclosed last month, and since dubbed the 'Downing Street Memo,' said Prime Minister Tony Blair agreed in April 2002 to join in an eventual U.S. attack on Iraq. [It also suggested that intelligence was being 'fixed' around the alleged excistence of WMDs in Iraq.] Two weeks later, Bustani was ousted, with British help."

The Bush Administration and the Blair Government fixed the intelligence to make war with Sadaam inevitable. Bush had Bolton fire the U.N. diplomat who was trying to defuse the war by proving Saddam had no chemical weapons. Then Bush went on television to tell the American public that Saddam had chemical weapons and had to be stopped before "the smoking gun comes in the form of a mushroom cloud.

We need an independent investigation into the Downing Street Memo and the firing of Bustani by Bolton and the Bush Administration. The United States went to war on "fixed" intelligence, lies, deceit, and treachery. Now Bush wants to reward Bolton with a promotion to the U.N. where the mustached menance can really wreck havoc.

If somebody had some subpoena power, they would be looking into all of this. But since only the Republicans controlling Congress have subpoena power, we will get no investigations.

Instead we will get the promotion of John Bolton to the United Nations where he can start to pick a fight with North Korea.

You just can't make this stuff up.

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