Posted on 02/18/2017 5:39:07 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Senior White House officials and members of the National Security Council are pushing former United Nations Ambassador John Bolton as a replacement for ousted national security adviser Michael Flynn, according to multiple sources in and out of the White House who spoke to the Washington Free Beacon.
Among Bolton's most vocal supporters are senior administration officials loyal to Flynn and who are upset at the general's firing. Multiple sources described an effort by these Flynn loyalists to ensure that Bolton is selected as his replacement.
The selection of Bolton as the next national security adviser would empower Flynn's allies still in the White House and send a message that his national security vision is represented within the Trump administration. Bolton is also favored by White House staffers who are opposed to the selection of any candidate who criticized President Trump during the 2016 campaign.
President Donald Trump has not settled on a final selection yet and is also eyeing retired Army Gen. Keith Kellogg, who has been acting national security adviser since Flynn's departure, as well as other candidates.
"There's a strong inclination in the NSC towards the kind of experienced leadership Bolton would represent," said one current official, who requested anonymity to speak freely about the situation. "He knows the ins and outs of D.C. but he's not an establishment, Never Trump type. There's also a lot of respect for General Kellogg and KT McFarland, both of whom have really stepped up under challenging circumstances."
Bolton, a senior figure in the George W. Bush administration, is well versed in the intricacies of government and would give the White House credibility at a time when the administration is under criticism.
"The one thing that makes Bolton more qualified than anyone else for the Trump era is that he has a veteran genius-level understanding of the organizational structure of our nation's diplomatic and intelligence apparatus," said one veteran foreign policy insider who is in close contact with multiple senior Trump administration national security figures.
Bolton has the ability to help root out Obama administration holdovers still working in the government, according to multiple sources. That would be essential. The Free Beacon reported earlier this week that Flynn's ouster was in part manufactured by Obama administration loyalists who leaked classified information as part of an effort to destroy the former national security adviser's credibility.
Bolton's staunchly conservative credentials and outspoken personality make him a favorite among those officials who championed Trump from the start of the 2016 campaign. Conservatives outside the administration would also cheer the appointment.
"One person I think would be very, very strong is John Bolton," Senator Ted Cruz told CNN Friday. "He's someone who understands the world, he understands the threats of radical Islamic terrorism."
.
Fortunately you won’t be asked.
You are pro GOPe?
He spent about 20 years in government service as opposed to private service. He was an Assistant AG under Reagan, worked for Jesse Helms, was an arms negotiator for State, was teamed with James Baker as a special envoy for the UN, was involved in getting the coalition together for the First Gulf War, and was very demanding and critical of Spooks not supporting government and taken to task by the leftist for being too blunt and firing people.
Sounds like my king of guy. Last election he advised Romney on Foreign Policy, he worked for Bush and has a neocon rep and certainly was liked by Dick Cheney and Rumsfeld.
Who you got?
I’m good with Bolton. I know some people say Bush guy or whatever, something along those lines I’m not really sure. But he seems pretty smart, and I’d say let’s give him a shot.
I guess I should add, his biggest promoter the last week has been Ted Cruz whom I voted for in the primaries.
Bolton ... 7th FLOOR???
.
I don’t participate in your game.
I think he’s a good pick. I believe he can help dig out the deep state. He knows all the dark corners.
Bolton is an American, and he takes no crap from foreigners.
Yes, he was one of the neocon hawks on Iraq. CLUE: So was I. We had that war won at one time.
Anyway, I think the man for the job is someone else DT is interviewing, H. R. McMaster, who wrote “Dereliction of Duty” about LBJ and MacNamara’s screwing up of Vietnam. McMaster is a very solid guy.
heh. that was clever.
----Why should we stay there if and when they are not competent to run their own affairs?
I never thought the goal was democratizing Afgh. Iraq was a fairly well educated country (by Arab standards) and actually had a chance before obama destroyed the win bush earned in iraq.
bonus question: why was it so critical for the obamites to make sure iraq turned into a loss? because a successful doctrine of preemption is utterly lethal to their world view.
Bolton is certainly an impressive fellow, very intelligent. He just seems to be in the trigger-happy mode of McCainiac and Grahamnesty. That bothers me.
I favor a policy of defeating bad hombres definitively and then returning home.
it’s a toxic topic here at FR, but the world would be a safer place if we had gotten a third bush administration, instead of the first obama administration.
It is obvious to me. No Nuclear Iran fostering. No tens of billions of dollars to Iran. No Libya idiocy, instead, a stable Libya with a semi-friendly Kadafi in charge.
No war in Syria.
No ISIS.
A stable Iraq.
No energized and enabled Hamas.
No war in Yemen.
“Iraq was a fairly well educated country (by Arab standards) and actually had a chance before obama destroyed the win bush earned in iraq.”
It wasn’t exactly a win. Bush had managed to turn the gov’t over to the Shiites, the same flavor of Islam running Iran, giving Iran influence in Iraq. Iraq had become even more religiously tribal than when Saddam was running the show- Christians and other religious minorities are being driven out and the Sunni/Shiite divide is stronger than ever.
Thanks Larry. I’ll have to check him out. I hadn’t heard his name brought up before. Thanks again.
As recently as December he was upset that Aleppo was liberated by Syrian forces with Russian air support.
And he is also on record a year ago saying the answer to ISIS was to create a sunni state in Syria.
He’s a Bush/Cheney/Krystol neocon. If he supports Trump hard for a few years, id kick him back to the UN maybe and that’s about it.
“Bolton as the next national security adviser would empower Flynn’s allies still in the White House”
Nothing could be further from the truth. He also wants Snowden executed, and was fine with the NSA domestic spying program.
I didn’t vote for Trump to install another Bush administration.
Agree with you on Bolton. Only know what I’ve seen and heard on Fox News- but haven’t watched it in a year or more. He comes off as pretty direct in his opinions and with a kind of “no nonsense” approach. Keep hearing he’s a neocon hawk, but agree with most of what he says. There could be worse picks IMO.
Rubber chickens?
John Bolton was my choice for Secretary of State...or for under Secretary of State...because he could root out the leftist Obama hangers on still there.
He is my choice for National Security Advisor for those stated on this thread, and because he could root out the leftist Obama hangers on...and he could help find them in all of the 17 agencies...
...must be done to stifle the leaks...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.