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Born at the Crest of the Empire

Thursday, August 18, 2005

The antennae are up.

I don't know enough to comment on this too deeply, but the antennae are up. The State Dept recommends this reshuffling the day after congress goes to recess, and then wants the go ahead before they get back? Just to add to it, this is all under Bolton's former post at State. Something's up.

Three weeks ago, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice held a news conference announcing broad changes to the department's arms control and nonproliferation bureaus. The first office had lost significant responsibilities during President Bush's first term as the White House pulled out of several international arms treaties. At the same time, the nonproliferation bureau's responsibilities tripled as officials handled crises with Iran, North Korea and a nuclear black market run out of Pakistan.

The bureaus had been under the control of John R. Bolton, who was about to be appointed ambassador to the United Nations after an unsuccessful confirmation process. With his departure, Rice said the bureaus would be merged into the newly named Bureau for International Security and Nonproliferation with a revised mission to address concerns such as the nexus between terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. .........

The State Department notified Congress of the plans Aug. 1, the first day of August recess, and had sought approval by Aug. 15, weeks before Congress returned and had an opportunity to explore the merger. ..........

On Monday, Bolton's chief of staff at State, Fred Fleitz, briefed staff members on the Senate committee about the merger. Many of the details and structural changes were worked out in private by a small group of political appointees who worked for Bolton.

Don't know, just sounds pretty fishy.

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