|
Bush stands firm on Bolton nomination
Mr. Bush's statements, at a news conference in the Rose Garden, suggested that he was intent on winning the battle over Mr. Bolton on his own terms when the Senate reconvenes next week, rather than negotiating a deal with Democrats and some Republicans who have been advocating a Democrats delayed a vote on the nomination on Thursday night, saying they wanted access to classified information about Mr. Bolton's conduct that the administration has refused for weeks to provide. "Now in terms of the requests for the documents, I view that as just another stall tactic," Mr. Bush said, "another way to delay, another way not to allow Bolton to get an up or down vote." Democrats gave no indication they would back down. "Mr. Bolton's fate lies with the president," said Jim Manley, the spokesman for Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic leader. "If he agrees to turn over the requested information about his nominee, then Mr. Bolton will get his up or down vote. The Senate is entitled to the information. It's really that simple." President Bush's comments came on the day the White House and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice marked the second anniversary of the White House program to slow nuclear proliferation, in which Mr. Bolton was a key player. The targets of the program include North Korea, Iran and Syria. Mr. Bush said, "We've got a lot of work to do with the North Korean," apparently referring to Kim Jong Il, the president, "because he tends to ignore what the other five nations are saying at times." The United States, China, Japan, South Korea and Russia have been engaged in more than two years of talks aimed at persuading the North to end its nuclear arms program. He added at another point: "It's either diplomacy or military. And I am for the diplomacy approach."
Posted by: Steve White 2005-06-01 |
||
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=120497 |