John Bolton on the Warpath

New Yorker ^ | AP 29 2019 | Dexter Filkins

[dfwgator]

Carrot and Stick.

[Leaning Right]

> New Yorker can have good articles not about politics. <

Except for the politics, the New Yorker is really a great magazine. Lots of interesting articles about different things. And the cartoons!

I used to subscribe. But not now. The political bias, I just couldn’t take it anymore.

[grania]

There's no case for war except as a last resort. We should not even be considering going to war for "friends" who choose to remain hostile to their neighbors. We should not be involved in Venezuela, recognizing a "legitimate" President who never even ran for that office. We should realize that sanctions are an act of war.

WarHawk Republicans should realize that they would not even be a minority party without the votes of folks who think as I do. I support a strong military 100%, one that stands ready to defend the US and only goes to war as a last resort. I do not support the global bully we've become.

[lee martell]

For a long time, we as Americans, weren’t supposed to dare question the how’s and why’s of Pearl Harbor. Many are now pondering the sequence of events and possible motivations of key players, including the US President of that time.

Sometimes, other countries are justified in being upset with the actions of my country. One should remain objective. I’m no Blame-America type at all, but I have matured in my reasoning. People do all manner of things to obtain and maintain their power.

[rintintin]

The point of the article is that Bolton seems to be opposed to Trumps agenda.

[Leaning Right]

> I support a strong military 100%, one that stands ready to defend the US and only goes to war as a last resort. <

Agreed. There is a saying: Democracies should go to war reluctantly, and then fight fiercely.

Ever since WW II, we have done the complete opposite. We now go to war casually, and then fight halfheartedly.

[montag813]

I wish Bolton and Rubio had shut their mouths about Venezuela. Maduro was headed for complete destruction with Russia and china pissed off at him, before they convinced Trump to take that assclown Guaido’s side. Now Maduro is energized and enjoying fresh support, troops and cash from Russia, China and Turkey.

[z3n]

I’m not a hawk, and in fact I call myself a non-interventionist libertarian, as I feel that most problems should be solve regionally and by neighbor states, and it’s not the U.S. job to be world police.

However, I always seem to get sucked into the notion that we can solve problem with missiles and air strikes. It has taken me a lifetime to be skeptical.

I don’t think we can achieve regime change in Iran without a full blown confrontation. They have had decades of paranoia and preparation. We need to stay the hell out of Iran.

I’m not against hitting them in retaliation for attacks and terrorism, at all. In fact, I feel that it would be weakness not to. But we need to be ever vigilant not to let our hawks get us sucked into escalation that will end up with boots on the ground.

[Leaning Right]

> Sometimes, other countries are justified in being upset with the actions of my country. <

Since you brought it up, many years ago I read a book about how the Soviets viewed the Cold War. In their view, the Americans were the aggressors, pure and simple.

For example, NATO was formed before the Warsaw Pact. And the Americans had troops in Norway and Turkey. Both of those countries bordered the USSR. How would America feel if the Soviets put troops in Canada and Mexico?

The author was NOT a Soviet apologist. Instead he was saying that in any political situation, you better understand how both sides are thinking.

[rintintin]

Why should I or any Freepers care who is president of Venezuala? How will my life or my family’s life be different if one guy or the other gets in?

I voted for Trump to focus on rebuilding America, not Third world countries thousands of miles away.

[Alberta's Child]

If you analyzed Bolton’s background objectively, you’d come to the inevitable conclusion that he is a Sunni Muslim who is also a major shareholder in every U.S. military contractor. This dope shouldn’t even be allowed to clean toilets in the White House.

[V V Camp Enari 67-68]

Why would anyone believe that John Bolton has a final say on something like going to war. Come on people get a grip!

[Openurmind]

Bolton is a frontman and slaesman for the MIC just like McCain was. Trump starts cutting into their profits and this is the retaliation for it. They WILL profit no matter what it takes.

[Seruzawa]

Is John Bolton going to carry a rifle?

I thought not.

[bert]

Pacifist drivel.

[The Toll]

Silly to think about foreign wars when your homeland is being invaded and your population replaced.

[rbmillerjr]

I see the pacifists are back again lol.

The RonPaulian LIBERALtarian force is strong among them.

Alas, they represent about 1.3% of registered voters or less.

[gathersnomoss]

Common sense...
Yet, not so common.
In fact, absent.

[jonrick46]

The evidence of Iran's objectives is unmistakable. We do not know of the top secret information President Trump knows about Iran. I am sure theNew Yorker is clueless. We do know tensions with Iran are a concern. Tensions escalated even further after an incident with four tankers off the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, with US investigators believing Iran or groups it supports were involved. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in Russia now to talk about Russia's support of Iran's intentions. He is not there for a game of poker. The US will act if its interests are attacked. With two U.S. aircraft carrier groups operating in the Mediterranean Sea for the first time since 2016, it would be hard for Russia to miss the intended message.

[angcat]

John Bolton could drop dead. Send your own children into another war!