WASHINGTON - John Bolton, President George W. Bush's controversial pick for US ambassador to the United Nations, was expected to receive the backing of a key Senate committee Thursday, but not before opponents launch a last-ditch effort to derail his nomination.
Barring any last minute surprises, Bolton was likely to squeak through this vote on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on a party line vote, after which he faces a confirmation vote by the full US Senate.
The Senate panel, which is vetting Bolton, is examining allegations that he misused or hyped flawed intelligence on some of the world's hot spots, including Syria, China, Iran and North Korea.
All eight of the panel's Democrats have vowed to vote against Bolton while four of the 10 Republicans on the committee have expressed doubts. The White House, meanwhile, has launched a full-court press however to persuade members belonging to Bush's party to get in line.
His likely confirmation comes despite a raft of new allegations that have swirled around him since a committee vote was suspended last month. Democrats continued to press for additional information about the career State Department official -- documents that US officials have so far refused to supply.
Democrats were pushing for a delay until they have the new material in hand, saying it represented the latest installment in a barrage of evidence proving that Bolton is not fit for the UN post.
"It's not about the UN. It's about the US and the US national interests," said Norm Kurz, spokesman for the top Democrat on the panel.
"The time might come when he has to come to the (UN) Security Council and say there are WMD (weapons of mass destruction.) The man does not have the credibility to represent our interests," said Kurz, aide to Senator Joe Biden, one of Bolton's most vocal critics.
The committee vote originally had been scheduled for late April, but was rescheduled after several Republicans expressed reservations in the face of the mounting charges against Bolton.
Despite Democrats' best efforts to again stall the nomination, Republicans in Congress now seem confident that Bolton has weathered the storm and will pass the May 12 committee vote.
Foreign Relations Committee chairman Richard Lugar on Sunday predicted on US television that the career civil servant would be approved by the panel, on which Republicans hold a slight edge.
Senator Chuck Hagel, one of the panel's most senior members and one of the Republicans who has expressed misgivings about Bolton, indicated in a television interview Monday that he opposed Democrats' moves to again defer the vote.
"We will have five hours on Thursday to take a look at the results of the examination of the charges against Mr Bolton and we're going to vote, as we should," he said.
"I have reserved my vote until I hear all the facts, but I've seen nothing new or heard nothing new that will lead me to believe he will not be voted out with an affirmative vote," he told CNN.
Bolton, an administration hardliner, faces allegations that he abused and tried to intimidate underlings and analysts, and attempted to refashion US intelligence to fit his political views. He is also criticized for past derisive statements lambasting the same United Nations he hopes to work within.
Over the past several days, new charges have surfaced that Bolton frequently clashed with his superiors, including Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage over the tone of his often-strident foreign policy statements, including a provocative 2003 speech on North Korea and planned congressional testimony on Syria.
Bolton also allegedly rejected advice from the US ambassador to South Korea in 2003 to tone down a speech condemning Pyongyang which it said almost scuppered the start of international talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program, according to news reports.
Proponents own that Bolton at times has been a bit "blunt" but say his direct manner is just what is needed to help whip the scandal-plagued world organization into shape.
But even his ex-boss, former secretary of state Colin Powell, reportedly told lawmakers that Bolton -- currently under secretary of state for arms control and international security -- had been a problematic official. And Powell's former chief of staff is quoted by the US press as saying Bolton would make an "abysmal ambassador."
Hagel, demonstrating the ambivalence loyal Republicans feel toward the nominee, has said he would vote for Bolton in committee and against him in a Senate floor vote. But he left a shade of doubt about his intentions now.
"This job that he's being nominated to do is a big job. It's the face of America to the world at the United Nations ... and it will be involving reform which we need at the UN.
"Until I get all the facts," he said, "I'll wait and then I'll vote."
05/11/2005 08:11 GMT