Bolton says Powell tried to shift US policy to offer 'carrots' to Iran

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell tried to change US policy on Iran, aligning with European allies to offer "carrots" to Teheran to end its nuclear program instead of pressing for sanctions, says John Bolton, a former US ambassador to the United Nations. His distress at watching Powell bend to the British, French and Germans was compounded when he saw Condoleezza Rice "wobble" on the Iran sanctions issue just a few months into her new job as secretary of state, Bolton says in his memoir released Tuesday. In an interview Friday with The Associated Press, Bolton said that specific "carrots" were discussed "at great length." They were "mostly economic access for Iran to enhanced technologies and things like that." "The Europeans had a long list of them - trade and investment options, technology," Bolton said. "The list of carrots was always longer than the list of sticks."