(John) Bolton Book Cites Effort to Halt Powell's Iran Initiative

[sabra]

Source: WP

On the eve of the 2004 presidential elections, then-Secretary of State Colin L. Powell secretly attempted to shift U.S. policy on Iran by telling key allies he wanted to offer "carrots" to the Islamic Republic to halt its nuclear ambitions, former U.N. ambassador John R. Bolton writes in his soon-to-be-published memoir.

Bolton, then undersecretary of state, says that he worked hard to thwart Powell's plans -- only to discover, to his dismay, that Powell's replacement, Condoleezza Rice, would pursue the same approach in President Bush's second term.

Bolton's book, "Surrender Is Not an Option: Defending America at the United Nations and Abroad," will be published next month by Threshold Editions. It provides a detailed look at key administration policy battles during the first six years of the Bush administration.

Bolton reveals many private conversations and internal debates as the administration struggled to deal with such issues as the North Korean and Iranian nuclear threats, the tragedy in Sudan's Darfur region, the Israeli-Hezbollah war and deteriorating relations with Russia.

Bolton's recounting of these episodes adds to the growing body of insider accounts about the inner workings of the Bush administration, though this is one of the first by a leading conservative figure. It will likely cause angst at the State Department and in some foreign capitals, including London, because of Bolton's depiction of the diplomatic exchanges. In typically pugnacious style, Bolton lashes out at his opponents in the administration and overseas, repeatedly referring to European Union diplomats as "EUroids" and foes in State's East Asia and Pacific Affairs Bureau as "EAPeasers."

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/21/AR2007102101042.html

[pattmarty]

1. This guy is the poster boy for all the fucking conservative morons.

[yellowcanine]

2. Hmm. Shouldn't an Undersecretary of State resign if he is in disagreement with the Secretary of

State rather than trying to undermine him?

[calimary]

3. What a self-righteous, arrogant fuckwad!

Glad you're OUT of office, bolton. That's about the best thing that can be said about you.

What an ASS! And to think he was America's Face to the U.N. OY. No wonder they hate us. And now he's got his cute little book coming out where he takes potshots at everybody. How heroic. Gee, I'm so impressed. NOT!!!! He sure didn't bother with other books - like that one called "How to Win Friends and Influence People".

We used to shout "G.R.!" to people like him: "Good Riddance!"

:eyes:

[unhappycamper]

4. John Bolton blowing John Bolton. n/t