Senate Foreign Relations Committee Debacle

Fire of Liberty

If you've been reading the papers or listening to the news, you are probably aware of the current dust-up in the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee on Under Secretary of State John Bolton's confirmation as our new UN Ambassador. While you probably already know that various subordinates and others who have an axe to grind against him have come forward with crazy accusations to derail his nomination. Though all of these claims have amounted to simple misunderstandings and have been fleshed out to be untrue in open hearings, the people opposed to Bolton have continued to find ways to derail this loyal American. Just look at the most recent allegations by Melody Townsel (A partisan liberal who most recently organized Mothers against Bush in 2004) which appeared in the news-cycle prior to the Sunday morning talk-shows. Here's what The New York Sun reported on Mrs. Townsel on April 18, 2005:

In the interview yesterday, Ms. Townsel said, "There is no question that I have been a vocal and outspoken critic of this administration and I am a very liberal Democrat. But it is equally no secret that I had a run-in with John Bolton."

When asked why she did not make this matter public in 2001, when Mr. Bolton's nomination for his current post as undersecretary of state was being considered by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, she said that at the time she had retreated from politics and was raising young children.

She also said there were no other eyewitnesses to what in the letter she said was a pattern of abusive behavior, but that others working on the project were familiar with her account.

"There were people aware of the harassment, but they are not willing to come forward because they have existing business with the government," she said.

Ms. Townsel's allegations appeared over the weekend in the Los Angeles Times, the Houston Chronicle, and numerous Democratic-leaning Web sites, such as Daily Kos and The American Prospect's web log, Tapped.

"My story seems to track so closely with other people," she said. "I really thought this would be a small log on the fire, I did not think it would be this big. Nothing in my story is all that out of track with the other stories out there." She also said she was contacted on Friday by the minority counsel of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

While various members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who are adamantly opposed to Secretary Bolton jumped on this story and raked Bolton's name through the coals and basically took the chairman's gavel out of Senator Lugar's hands forcing a 3 week recess, the truth to Mrs. Townsel's partisan accusation is coming to the light.

Thanks to the guys over at National Review, Mrs. Townsel's story doesn't even match up with the facts (It's generally this way with stories that emanate from Senator Biden's office to the LA Times). Here's what Rich Lowry had to say about the whole affair over at The Corner:

The head of the firm, IBTCI, that was involved in the Moscow incident, when Bolton allegedly chased and threw things at Melody Townsel, has written a letter to the foreign relations committee about the controversy. We’ve posted the whole thing (it’s roughly written), so you can judge for yourself. Here is a key passage:

To the best of my knowledge, Ms. Townsel had limited contact with Mr. Bolton, who at the time she claims was hostile to her, was working on another project for IBTCI in Moscow (Healthy Russia 2000). Ms. Townsel's recollection of what transpired, ten years later, is impossible to square with the fact Mr. Bolton was not engaged by our firm to have any contact with her on any issue related to her activities in Kyrgyzstan. In fact, later Mr. Bolton became our legal counsel to represent our interests before the U.S. Government in response to Ms. Townsel's efforts to try to grab our contract. Her claims against Mr. Bolton make no sense but are consistent with her belligerent attitudes towards others.

In fact, Ms. Townsel's professional performance is central to understanding her behavior and her extreme hostility to anyone associated with our company. As a Team Leader, she attempted unsuccessfully to charge the U.S. government for disallowable costs. She became enraged and abusive when our Business Manager, Auditor, and Executive Vice President each questioned these activities/costs, The situation was so serious that we had to post an expatriate from Head Office to our project office in Kyrgyzstan to ensure that proper accounts were maintained as we bad lost confidence in her business and billing practices.

Her poor performance, treatment of other employees and attempt to take over our contract became issues; and thus I was required to step in and remove her from her position. Mr. Bolton's role with IBTCI was unrelated. to her activities at the time. At no time did we ask, or seek Mr. Bolton's intervention with her. I certainly did .not hear, contemporaneously; from any other employee in Moscow that anything occurred between Mr. Bolton and Ms Townsel in Moscow, Consequently, it is difficult to understand how Ms. Townsel could make such accusations with any veracity.

How in the World is this cause enough to delay/derail Secretary Bolton's nomination.(I forgot that this is Washington, soundclips and politicians who know how to get their message out.) While these Senators get their sound-bytes and undermine a man who could get results in a organization that most Americans give less than a fig about in the first place. The reason that the UN has fallen into a morass of insignificance is because their wasn't a strong US Ambassador to push some buttons. As long as we send people to the UN who continue to use pleasantries and are viewed as wimpy diplomats, we will never get anything meaningful to our national interests accomplished in this mad-house. I hope the President knocks down some doors or talk the ears off of Senator Lugar for letting such a debacle occur in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, before cameras at that(Lugar looked like he forgot his vitamins). He also needs to remind his fellow Republicans how this undermines the party and urge them to approve the man. (Lincoln Chaffee needs to be reminded that he's running for the Senate- There are other Republicans in RI). We shouldn't let Boxer and Kerry determine who the President selects as his Ambassador's, for God sakes the Republicans are in charge of the committee. Expect more to come.

Along with this, check out this editorial on Bolton by the editors of National Review Online, good stuff.