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Senators Grill Bolton on Past UN Comments, Politicizing Intelligence
Israeli Journalist Amira Hass Reflects on Reporting Under
Occupation
Senators Grill Bolton on Past UN Comments, Politicizing
Intelligence
During the confirmation hearing of John Bolton as UN ambassador
nominee, members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
grilled Bolton on his highly critical comments on the UN and
his treatment of intelligence officials in the state department.
We play extended excerpts of the hearing. [includes rush
transcript - partial]
The confirmation hearing of John Bolton, president Bush's
nominee for US ambassador to the United Nations, began yesterday
in Washington.
Bolton has served in the past three Republican administrations
and been one of the party's strongest conservative voices.
He is now the Bush administration's arms control chief.
During the day-long confirmation hearing, members of the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee grilled Bolton on his highly
critical comments on the UN and his treatment of intelligence
officials in the state department.
Bolton repeatedly played down his previous attacks on the
UN. This is an excerpt of what he had to say in his opening
statement.
- John Bolton, Senate confirmation hearing for UN ambassador
nominee, April 11, 2005.
After his opening statement, Senate Democrats grilled Bolton
during the day-long hearing. Perhaps the most confrontational
moment of the day came from California Senator Barbara Boxer.
She took Bolton to task on his previous jabs at the United
Nations.
- Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Senate confirmation hearing
for UN ambassador nominee, April 11, 2005.
Senator Boxer went on to play a clip of John Bolton speaking
more than 10 years ago at an event called "The Global
Structures Convocation." It was held on February 3, 1994,
in New York. This is an excerpt of what Boxer played during
yesterday's hearing.
- John Bolton, speaking at the Global Structures convocation,
New York City, Feb. 3, 1994.
After Senator Boxer played those comments during the hearing,
Bolton defended the controversial statements.
- Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) questioning John Bolton, Senate
confirmation hearing for UN ambassador nominee, April 11,
2005.
Senator Barbara Boxer of California grilling John Bolton
during yesterday's confirmation hearing. The Senate Foreign
Relations Committee is made up of by ten Republicans to eight
Democrats. All eight Democrats are expected to oppose Bolton's
nomination. Rhode Island Senator Lincoln Chafee was the panel's
only Republican who was seen as a possible vote against Bolton.
But after the morning session yesterday, Chafee said that
he was generally satisfied with Bolton's answers and that
he was still "inclined" to vote to approve him.
It was another Republican on the panel - Senator Chuck Hagel
of Nebraska - that issued some sharp questions to Bolton on
the war in Iraq.
- Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) questioning John Bolton, Senate
confirmation hearing for UN ambassador nominee, April 11,
2005.
A little later in the proceedings three women peace activists
from the group Codepink interrupted the hearing. They held
up banners reading "NO Bolton, YES UN," "Bolton
equals Nuclear Proliferation," and "Diplomat, Not
Bully, Please!" and urged Senators to reject Bolton as
the worst possible choice for the job and for world peace.
- Codepink protesters disrupt Senate hearing.
The three women were quickly kicked out of the hearing. Much
of Monday's confirmation hearing focused on allegations that
Bolton tried to have intelligence analysts removed from their
posts after disagreeing with him. Committee Democrats circulated
a portion of a Senate Intelligence Committee report from two
years ago questioning whether Bolton pressured a State Department
intelligence analyst who tried to tone down language in a
speech he gave about Cuba's biological weapons capabilities.
Democratic Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut asked Bolton
about the allegations.
- Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT) questioning John Bolton,
Senate confirmation hearing for UN ambassador nominee, April
11, 2005.
Israeli Journalist Amira Hass Reflects on Reporting
Under Occupation
Amira Hass, the only Israeli journalist living in the Occupied
Territories, joins us in our firehouse studio to discuss the
current withdrawal from Gaza and expansion of settlements
in the West Bank, the "apartheid system" in Israel
and life in the "prison" of the Occupied Territories.
President Bush cautioned Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
on Monday against expanding the number of settlements in the
West Bank. Israel has plans to build 3,500 new settlement
homes in the West Bank and to build a corridor connecting
one of the area's largest settlements to Jerusalem. The construction
is illegal under international law and violates the so-called
road map to peace. On Tuesday, Bush held a press conference
with Sharon at his Texas ranch.
- President Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon,
news conference, Texas, April 11, 2005.
After the meeting, Sharon defended the expansion of settlements
and vowed to continue building a corridor between the large
Maaleh Adumim settlement and Jerusalem -- which will in effect
permanently redraw the map of Israel.
Meanwhile, opponents of Israel's planned withdrawal from
the Gaza Strip have chained shut 167 (one hundred sixty seven)
schools and nurseries in and around Tel Aviv. It is the latest
in a series of actions by protesters who have vowed to sabotage
the pull-out from Gaza, due to begin in July. We are joined
right now by one of Israel's leading journalists, Amira Hass.
She is a longtime correspondent for the Israeli newspaper
Ha'aretz. She has spent much of the last decade living in
Palestinian communities of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank
and is the only full-time Jewish Israeli journalist living
amongst Palestinians in the Occupied Territories. She is the
author of "Reporting from Ramallah : An Israeli Journalist
in an Occupied Land" and "Drinking the Sea at Gaza
: Days and Nights in a Land Under Siege." Amira Hass
joins us today in our New York Studio.
For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359.
Our website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous,
Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma.
Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.
Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph,
Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu,
Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
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