Former ambassador Bolton's memoir characteristically undiplomatic

WASHINGTON — On the eve of the 2004 presidential elections, then-Secretary of State Colin Powell secretly attempted to shift U.S. policy on Iran by telling key allies he wanted to offer "carrots" to the Islamic Republic to halt its nuclear ambitions, former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton writes in his soon-to-be-published memoir.

Bolton, then undersecretary of state, says he worked hard to thwart Powell's plans — only to discover, to his dismay, that Powell's replacement, Condoleezza Rice, would pursue the same approach in President Bush's second term.

Bolton's book, "Surrender Is Not an Option: Defending America at the United Nations and Abroad," will be published next month by Threshold Editions. It provides a detailed look at key policy battles during the first six years of the Bush administration.

Bolton reveals many private conversations and internal debates as the administration struggled to deal with North Korean and Iranian nuclear threats, the tragedy in Sudan's Darfur region, the Israeli-Hezbollah war and deteriorating relations with Russia.

Bolton's recounting of these episodes will likely cause angst at the State Department and in some foreign capitals. In typically pugnacious style, Bolton lashes out at his opponents in the administration and overseas, repeatedly referring to European Union diplomats as "EUroids" and foes in State's East Asia and Pacific Affairs Bureau as "EAPeasers."

Bolton in particular criticizes Rice and a top aide, Undersecretary R. Nicholas Burns.

After a bitter fight, the Senate never confirmed Bolton's nomination as U.N. ambassador, and he stepped down in December when his recess appointment expired. He is currently a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.