John Bolton

U.S. intelligence services attempted to influence political policy by releasing their assessment that concludes Iran halted its nuclear arms program in 2003, said John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Der Spiegel magazine quoted Bolton on Saturday as alleging that the aim of the National Intelligence Estimate, which contradicts his and President Bush's position, was not to provide the latest intelligence on Iran.

Re "Bolton calls report on Iran 'quasi-putsch,' " Dec. 9 John Bolton has proved, once again, his unfitness to hold high office by calling the intelligence community's recent report on the Iranian nuclear policy a "quasi-putsch." The report was the result of an extremely thorough investigation that reflects the consensus of all 16 intelligence agencies. Bolton is simply using what psychologists call "projection," where someone projects his own intentions onto others.

John R. Bolton, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said Monday that Iran's leaders could stay in power and improve their ties with Washington if they ended their pursuit of nuclear arms. He later insisted that he had not meant to threaten Tehran with regime change if its leaders failed to do so.

President Bush is considering a new effort to have John R. Bolton confirmed as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, a year after appointing him to the job over Senate objections. Bush appointed Bolton while the Senate was in recess last August after senators had blocked the former State Department official's confirmation, saying he had an abrasive style. His appointment runs out in January at the end of the congressional session.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee announced Friday that it will hold hearings next week on the renomination of John R. Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations. A yearlong lobbying effort by Bolton has converted his most vocal opponent, Sen. George V. Voinovich (R-Ohio), into a key supporter.

America's combative U.N. ambassador, John R. Bolton, launched a second campaign to win full Senate approval Thursday, saying he had done his best "to work with others to advance our national interests" during his year at the world body. "I do believe important advances have been made," he said during a 3 1/2 -hour hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

I SPEAK NOW not so much in praise of John Bolton as in dispraise of Boltophobia. Bolton is a fine man, a sharp intellectual, a committed public servant and has the most aggressive mustache in American politics today. He's done a first-rate job as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during his yearlong interim appointment, and were it not for the waffling of Republican Sen.

John R. Bolton's prospects for remaining the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations dwindled Thursday as Democrats and a key Republican senator rejected efforts to have the still-Republican- controlled Senate confirm his nomination. The White House continued to explore ways to keep Bolton at the U.N. without going through a confirmation process. Outgoing Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.

John R. Bolton, the pugnacious U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, is known for not giving up. But after meeting with his mentor Vice President Dick Cheney on Thursday to discuss ways to stay at the U.N. without a Senate confirmation, he decided it was time to quit.

Re "U.N. envoy confirmation unlikely," Nov. 10 Half a year ago, I was talking with my neighbor about President Bush's nominee for ambassador to the United Nations. He said John Bolton was chosen to develop an exit strategy -- out of the U.N. What my neighbor said sounded like a joke at first. But then it sunk in and I realized it could be true. I wondered: Could this be part of the neocons' master plan to sabotage our relationship with the international organization and justify bailing out of it?