Michael Green, The Interpreter: What to Expect From John Bolton at the White House
President Donald Trump’s announcement that former UN Ambassador John Bolton will be the new U.S. National Security Advisor will send tremors through some allied capitals. But Bolton may not be effective in the role if he reverts to the aggressive and ideological approaches that made him the darling of the right and the President in the first place.
For one thing, the National Security Advisor’s position has no standing in statute (the 1947 National Security Act only authorized the position of Executive Secretary to the National Security Council). The most effective National Security Advisors, such as Brent Scowcroft, therefore required the trust of the President and the actual statutory members of the NSC (Secretaries of State and Defense, et al.).
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WNU Editor: John Bolton would not have been on my list for this position .... he does not strike me as a consensus type of person. But after one year in office President Trump is now surrounding himself with people that he knows are loyal to him, that he feels comfortable working with, and that will implement his agenda without him telling them to do so. As for John Bolton's appointment .... having a neoconservative in this position does not make me feel comfortable. But he will be one of many voices in the administration, and I am sure that the National Security Council will adjust.
8 comments:
"we are confident that Saddam Hussein has hidden weapons of mass destruction,"
Bolton, 2002.
Full MAGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The fox news cabinet is almost complete.
Great..
note that he has dumped any person who had been wary,warned, about Russia
Anon # 1,
Mr. Bolton was very likely simply repeating information that he had been given by others. As I explain on another thread, the way neo-conservatives survive is by molding themselves to who ever has power at the time. In other words, they don't decide what policy is going to be implemented nor do they have a say in it. This is for those who hold the real power.
With the full MAGA comment or whatever you seem to suggest that Americans should not strive to make our country great. This is part of why DJT was elected. He offered a message of hope that maybe, just maybe just our country could actually some day be a great country. The opponents only appeared to be offering a continuation of the status quo that not only was not working but was making things steadily worse.
A bit off topic. We are in the midst of a new Cold War with arguably the most powerful military force on the planet who is closely allied with arguably the second most powerful military force on the planet. Not only this but our government went out of its way to provoke this conflict with Russia and to inflame it. Russian leadership has demonstrated a level of trust towards DJT not shown towards other US leaders and may have even done substantial business with him although not substantiated demonstrating a further level of trust between themselves and POTUS. Ending the new Cold War is firmly in America's interest. As such, impeaching Trump or otherwise undermining him in these efforts would not seem to be a particularly wise thing to do.
Anon # 3,
A very promising diplomatic effort that took many long months if not years to put together with regards to Russia was wrecked for what appears to solely be for partisan political purposes. Perhaps DJT is pursuing a new path here to try and restart that which is firmly in our best interests.
You do not end a cold war by (1) sending greetings to a guy who has had a number of enemies poisoned in England; who is has made major efforts to infiltrate and shape your election; who is siding with Assad, our enemy and a tyrant we are fighting in Syria. (2) you let Russia know loud and clear that all our intel knows of their meddling. (3) and no, despite the refusal of our president to say one word against Puting, we want sanctions against Russia to be in place.
ps: if Trump were to be impeached that would be an internal matter and not something to be put aside to make nice with Russia
You seem to support Russia non stop in each and ever post. You make that very clear
Fred,
1.)The accusations of poisoning have not been proven. As myself, the editor, and a number of others have noted there are a number of problems with the theory. As a regular reader, you are aware of these and it does not need to be revisited. Yet in spite of careful and patient explanations you continue to repeat a nonsensical talking point. In the case of the US and "western" government, I think it ideology combined with stupidity and arrogance making them easily manipulated. As for you, I don't have an explanation. That will be up to you.
As to the efforts to infiltrate and shape our elections, again not proven to the extent alleged. Given the severity of the accusations and the fact that it is being used to ramp up tensions with Russia, all sources and methods will need to be released. Essentially Americans need to know why we are inflaming tensions with arguably the world's most powerful country that may lead to a hot war that we may not be able to win and even if we do "win" the costs in terms of lives lost and damage will be enormous. "Because I said so" isn't good enough. At present, I think some people are whiny and p!ssy because they lost an election and they need a scapegoat. That's not a good enough reason to risk this.
Syria: I patiently pointed out in 2011 that Assad would not fall. Russia would not allow it. I have been proven right. In an effort to achieve this, we sided with a mish mash of rebels affiliated with Al Qaeda, ISIS, and still others who can't fight. Now the Russians are fully involved and stronger than they were, Assad's forces are battle hardened in ways they would not have been and are out for vengeance, and to top off this off Iranian forces and allies have been strengthened and now pose a much greater threat to Israel. While Assad ma be a "tyrant," the US lacks the ability or resources to slay all of the world's tyrants. Even if we could, it would ill advised. Our founders warned against such behavior.
2.)As discussed, US (un)intelligence does not exactly have a good track record. Furthermore I think the case could be made that they have not exactly always been honorable either. If you are going to use this as a reason to ratchet up tensions risking war with arguably the most powerful country in the world to fight a war we may not even be able to win, all sources and methods will need to be released to the American people. After all they need to know why they and their families are being placed in even graver risk than they already are in. Hint: saving HRC or the Democrats does not rise to such a level. These are very serious accusations not be bandied out recklessly.
3.) Actions speak louder than words. Sanctions have not been eased nor has a reasonable path been provided to Russia to get this done, operations in Ukraine have been expanded, and I see no effort to extricate us from Syria. The reason we do not SAY things is called "statesmanship." Essentially we wish to end the hostilities in a reasonable manner to all and a "dressing down" of arguably the most powerful man in the world is counterproductive. With that said judging by the actions DJT has lost his way on this for now. I still hold out some hope that he still has just enough sanity to work on getting this one right.
As for impeachment, while this is an internal matter, there are other factors that need to be considered. America does not exist in a vacuum. For example, if a country has demonstrated a willingness to work with a certain leader to achieve a goal the country needs, it may not be such a good idea to undermine this leader. The broader needs of the country outweigh the needs of petty politics.
Something else to consider, in the case of Putin, any replacement we would get for him at present will be even more hostile to us. As such, it would probably not be a good idea to undermine. In fact, extreme care probably should be taken not to do so!!
You accuse me of supporting Russia non stop. This is not the case. I support America and I DO NOT support stupid leaders needlessly inflaming a situation like children placing a magnifying glass on a grasshopper!! Such insanity needlessly places us and our families in danger.
In fact, I think this could be expressed another you reflexively take any anti-Russian position no matter how absurd. I would describe it like Pavlov's dogs responding to the dinner bell. In the same manner you instantly spout out whatever talking points your media handlers and your Democrat party leaders tell you to. At least this is how it appears to me. As I have explained to others, if you read my posts in their entirety, evaluated the context, and read the editor's posts you would know I am not pro Russian. Since you do know how to read and are generally thoughtful I am assuming your typing fingers got ahead of your brain on this one.
Always and consistently badmouthing my nation
And Thais th U S
The pattern is clear
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