Arms-Control Chief Says Bolton Had Him 'Unlawfully' Sacked: ; Opponents Claim Chemical-Weapons Work Have Undermined U.S. Rationale for Iraq War

Summary

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John R. Bolton flew to Europe in 2002 to confront the head of a global arms-control agency and demand that he resign, then orchestrated the firing of the unwilling diplomat in a move a U.N. tribunal has since judged unlawful, according to officials involved.

A former Bolton deputy says the U.S. undersecretary of state felt that Jose Bustani "had to go," particularly because the Brazilian was trying to send chemical weapons inspectors to Baghdad. That might have helped defuse the crisis over alleged Iraqi weapons and undermined a U.S. rationale for war, Bolton opponents say.

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Extract

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Arms-Control Chief Says Bolton Had Him 'Unlawfully' Sacked: ; Opponents Claim Chemical-Weapons Work Have Undermined U.S. Rationale for Iraq War

Bustani, who says he got a "menacing" phone call from Bolton at one point, was removed by a vote of just one-third of member nations at an unusual special session of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), at which the United States cited alleged mismanagement in calling for his ouster.

The United Nations' highest administrative tribunal later co...

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