Bolton : A Temper Tantrum 'Gorilla'

"Carl W. Ford Jr., former chief of the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research, told senators April 12 that John Bolton, President Bush’s choice for UN ambassador, is a “serial abuser … an 800-pound gorilla” who “devours” anyone who disagrees with him.

"In testimony before a Senate Foreign Relations confirmation hearing, Ford said Bolton had demanded that he fire an intelligence analyst for contradicting Bolton’s claim that Cuba was developing weapons of mass destruction. "I’ve never seen anybody quite like Secretary Bolton,” Ford said.

"It was not the first time Bolton attempted to get someone fired for telling the truth. Stuart Cohen, former acting chief of the National Intelligence Council, told a closed-door Senate hearing that Bolton visited his office to demand removal of the council’s top expert on Latin America. He too had challenged Bolton’s fabrications that Cuba was developing biological weapons.

"Bolton erupted in similar tantrums when analysts challenged claims by Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney that Iraq had stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction and close ties to al-Qaeda, now widely exposed as lies.