Bolton Office E-Mails Spotlight Tensions

Bolton Office E-Mails Spotlight Tensions: "Bolton Office E-Mails Spotlight Tensions

By Glenn Kessler
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 11, 2005; A06

Opponents of John R. Bolton's nomination to become U.N. ambassador yesterday distributed recently declassified e-mails to focus attention on a 2002 dispute between Bolton's office and the State Department's intelligence bureau over a CIA analysis.
Democrats say the e-mails are part of a pattern of intimidation and twisting of intelligence during Bolton's tenure as undersecretary for arms control. But Republicans say a relatively minor conflict has been blown out of proportion.
The evidence collected by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, including numerous interviews with participants in the matter, does not conclusively link Bolton to the incident. Bolton told the committee in a written statement that he was overseas at the time and had 'no recollection' of it.
Frederick Fleitz, his chief of staff, told investigators in a contentious interview last Thursday that he did not discuss the matter with Bolton before sending an e-mail saying he was writing 'on behalf of U/S Bolton' to express his displeasure with the bureau, according to a transcript.
The debate centered on an important policy issue early in President Bush's first term -- the effectiveness of China's missile export controls.
The CIA analysis in question, written in August 2002, concluded that the export controls were deficient. This supported Bolton's thinking. He was headed overseas and had not read the report, but he asked Fleitz to have it sent to then-Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage, Bolton told the committee.
But Fleitz was furious to later discover that the intelligence bureau attached a cover sheet to the analysis "