[Mb-civic] another happy bolton underling

[Mike Blaxill]

Letter to Congress from a fromer US AID employee

Dear Sir:

I'm writing to urge you to consider blocking in
committee the nomination of John Bolton as
ambassador to the UN.

In the late summer of 1994, I worked as the
subcontracted leader of a US AID project in
Kyrgyzstan officially awarded to a HUB primary
contractor. My own employer was Black, Manafort,
Stone & Kelly, and I reported directly to
Republican leader Charlie Black.

After months of incompetence, poor contract
performance, inadequate in-country funding, and a
general lack of interest or support in our work
from the prime contractor, I was forced to make
US AID officials aware of the prime contractor's
poor performance.

I flew from Kyrgyzstan to Moscow to meet with
other Black Manafort employees who were leading
or subcontracted to other US AID projects. While
there, I met with US AID officials and expressed
my concerns about the project -- chief among
them, the prime contractor's inability to keep
enough cash in country to allow us to pay bills,
which directly resulted in armed threats by
Kyrgyz contractors to me and my staff.

Within hours of sending a letter to US AID
officials outlining my concerns, I met John
Bolton, whom the prime contractor hired as legal
counsel to represent them to US AID. And, so,
within hours of dispatching that letter, my hell
began.

Mr. Bolton proceeded to chase me through the
halls of a Russian hotel -- throwing things at
me, shoving threatening letters under my door
and, generally, behaving like a madman. For
nearly two weeks, while I awaited fresh direction
from my company and from US AID, John Bolton
hounded me in such an appalling way that I
eventually retreated to my hotel room and stayed
there. Mr. Bolton, of course, then routinely
visited me there to pound on the door and shout
threats.

When US AID asked me to return to Bishkek,
Kyrgyzstan in advance of assuming leadership of a
project in Kazakstan, I returned to my project to
find that John Bolton had proceeded me by two
days. Why? To meet with every other AID team
leader as well as US foreign-service officials in
Bishkek, claiming that I was under investigation
for misuse of funds and likely was facing jail
time. As US AID can confirm, nothing was further
from the truth.

He indicated to key employees of or contractors
to State that, based on his discussions with
investigatory officials, I was headed for federal
prison and, if they refused to cooperate with
either him or the prime contractor's replacement
team leader, they, too, would find themselves the
subjects of federal investigation. As a further
aside, he made unconscionable comments about my
weight, my wardrobe and, with a couple of team
leaders, my sexuality, hinting that I was a
lesbian (for the record, I'm not).

When I resurfaced in Kyrgyzstan, I learned that
he had done such a convincing job of smearing me
that it took me weeks -- with the direct
intervention of US AID officials -- to limit the
damage. In fact, it was only US AID's appoinment
of me as a project leader in Almaty, Kazakstan
that largely put paid to the rumors Mr. Bolton
maliciously circulated.

As a maligned whistleblower, I've learned
firsthand the lengths Mr. Bolton will go to
accomplish any goal he sets for himself. Truth
flew out the window. Decency flew out the window.
In his bid to smear me and promote the interests
of his client, he went straight for the low road
and stayed there.

John Bolton put me through hell -- and he did
everything he could to intimidate, malign and
threaten not just me, but anybody unwilling to go
along with his version of events. His behavior
back in 1994 wasn't just unforgivable, it was
pathological.

I cannot believe that this is a man being
seriously considered for any diplomatic position,
let alone such a critical posting to the UN.
Others you may call before your committee will be
able to speak better to his stated dislike for
and objection to stated UN goals. I write you to
speak about the very character of the man.

It took me years to get over Mr. Bolton's actions
in that Moscow hotel in 1994, his intensely
personal attacks and his shocking attempts to
malign my character.

I urge you from the bottom of my heart to use
your ability to block Mr. Bolton's nomination in
committee.

Respectfully yours,

Melody Townsel
Dallas, TX 75208