Posted on 03/23/2018 6:08:48 AM PDT by Kaslin
With one presidential decision, America gained one of its boldest National Security Advisers, and lost one of its best cable news guests.
Roughly an hour after John Bolton, former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., was named as the replacement for the outgoing adviser H.R. McMaster, he appeared on Fox News with “The Story” host Martha MacCallum, who was loaded with great questions for a man known for his blunt assessments of the world scene and sharp views on the policies that best serve America.
She learned quickly that the new position changes everything for Bolton.
Amid stories of inner-circle discord over President Trump’s praise for freshly re-elected Russian President Vladmir Putin, she had to wonder if Bolton would speak disapprovingly of the congratulatory words that have alarmed so many, despite Barack Obama having done the same six years ago.
The advisor-designate made clear that his years of writing and speaking about countless issues have left a record he is proud of, but that his job now is to subjugate his views to the president’s. He did let on that the whole flap struck him as overblown: “I don’t consider it a significant point… I’ve said congratulations to a lot of people, foreign diplomats and officials, it’s a matter of being polite...It’s a matter of courtesy more than anything.”
Having gleaned a sliver of an answer on one issue, McCallum plowed forward, seeking newsworthy specifics on how Bolton’s strong views might inform the advice he gave the president. “I don’t think it’s appropriate to tell you what advice I would give him,” he replied.
Would he continue to oppose the Iran nuclear deal, creating conflict with Defense Secretary James Mattis, who has shown more tolerance for it? Does he expect his views on that, or anything else, to create conflict among the Trump national security team? Should we keep the military option on the table with regard to North Korea? Is meeting with Kim Jong-un a good idea?
“Same question, same answer,” he replied. Always with a smile, Trump’s newest team member made clear his thoughts and analysis were no longer for the benefit of the general public, but for his new boss.
He did intimate that he would not be shy in that setting: “If the government can’t have a free interchange of ideas among the president’s advisors, the president is not well served.” He also shared a story revealing that if his opinion did not prevail, he would always maintain awareness of his role, as implementer of presidential will. Harry Truman’s Secretary of State, Dean Acheson, he recalled, would often describe why they got along so well: “Neither one of us ever forgot who was president.”
Then, a story from his own service: If, as an Assistant Secretary of State under George H.W. Bush, some idea of his was simply not holding sway, James Baker would remind him: “The guy who got elected doesn’t want to do it.”
So as John Bolton the spirited commentator fades from view, I take comfort in the knowledge that if his views and passions will no longer be heard by me, they will surely be heard by the president during what should be a chapter that leads to even clearer evidence that this is an administration serious about the threats of a dangerous world.
There is something else Bolton is serious about, the one area he was not hesitant in addressing—leaks, of the sort that enabled the absurd Putin congratulation uproar to become a brushfire. “I was outraged by it,” he told McCallum, “It recalled earlier in the administration when somebody was leaking transcripts of the president’s conversations with foreign leaders. It’s completely unacceptable; you cannot conduct diplomacy, you cannot expect other foreign leaders to be candid and open in their conversations with the president if some Munchkin in the executive branch decides they’re going to leak the talking points or the transcript or any other aspect of it.”
Now there’s the John Bolton we know.
America will now come to know him with greater familiarity in his service to the nation and the administration, which will hopefully last longer than the tenure of his two predecessors.
There is healthy evidence of the wisdom of this choice in the panic of liberals who convulsed the moment it was announced. But there is also a part of the Trump base that might be uneasy, the voters who viewed him as unlikely to entangle America in further extended deployments in various hot spots.
Make no mistake, Bolton believes in the American military as a force for good around the world. He will never share the Trump view that going to war in Iraq was a mistake. But if he is to be taken at his word, he knows that he is not “the guy who got elected.” There is no evidence that his hawkish nature contains some strong urge toward new, large troop deployments anywhere.
But he shares the Trump view that the Iran nuclear deal is a disaster, and that North Korea should know every day that a military option is always on the table to address his missile adventures. That strong position, both men would say, has contributed to better North Korean behavior of late, and even the prospect of a Trump/Kim meeting.
Ronald Reagan famously said that no war in his lifetime ever started because America was too strong. If that is instructive, war is in fact less likely with a president unafraid to give voice to such strength, and a National Security Advisor willing to inform it.
Bolton’s very smart, knows how the Wash. bureaucracy is set up, could clean up the swamp, I assume he was interviewed and all of that. If he’s kept on a tight lease, I think this could work. We really are strong-armed by a number of sources and countries.
Guy wants an independent Kurdistan and has had some negative words about Erdogan.
With a lot of these people, it’s the good, bad and the ugly.
Bolton:
On the attempted coup against Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, 2016: “Erdogan... wants an Islamic state. The failed military coup was most likely the last gasp of the secular generals. Whether he goes on to declare a Turkish caliphate or not, I don’t know, but he has laid the ground.”
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/john-bolton-donald-trump-314509430
Bolton supported the Kurdistan independence referendum last September. “I think the Kurdish people have been without a voice for far too long,” he told Kurdistan 24 shortly before that vote.
Read more at: http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/d555d820-5da5-43de-9802-8f4540e44d1b
You just have to chuckle at the self loathing streak in our armchair isolationists. Sometimes I think they hate this country ever bit as much as the Democrats. The idea that American power can’t be projected in a positive way in the world under a POTUS like Trump is laughable.
Maybe those of us who despise McCain and Graham despise them for different reasons than their foreign policy views.
Like, for instance, their stance on immigration, or their willingness to cave to the Dems on virtually any issue.
Frankly, the only reason that I have any admiration at all for those two (and it is very limited, to be sure) is because they both want a strong US military and want the US - almost always a force for good in this world - to be more involved in the affairs of the world. Yes, that can be taken too far...but I am sure that no matter what Bolton tells Trump, Trump has the perspective and the gumption to say, “Nope, we’re not going to do that.” That Bolton clearly and openly recognizes who is the boss is very encouraging.
While I have some doubts about Bolton’s neo con roots his analysis is always spot on. I have no doubts about McMaster. He is an Obama stooge, the rats celebrated when got the job so I am delighted HR is out.
Many of the isolationists and doves posting on FR are really union loving democrats. They are paid by the post and they do hate this country.
I don’t want one American drop of blood to be spilled for the benefit of foreign interests, foreign governments, or nation building. America’s greatest problems are domestic in nature and we have no business intervening in the affairs of others when our own house is in disorder.
John Bolton is a team player. He won’t play games or do anything to undermine the President.
He is an excellent appointment. Its a mystery why Bolton wasn’t named last year.
That said, better late than never.
Bolton is a great choice. His loyalty lies with the US and not with a political party or individual.
What difference does it make? The split second Trump signs the porkulus his presidency ends
With any luck Bolton won’t last any longer than his predecessors did. I’m not happy to see recycled waste from the Bush administration in the WH either, particularly since Trump campaigned against the Bush/Neocon agenda when he ran for President.
I worked at taxpayer’s expense in military intelligence and assisting veterans at the unemployment office. Am I part of the swamp?
Since you and Bolton shared Bill and Hillary Clinton's views on the Balkan and Syria conflict, it seems to me that your stance is closer to that of mainstream Democrats.
Dead right! You’re over target when taking flak!
I’ve followed Bolton for a VERY long time. I’ve seen him as an amazing voice of reason in foreign affairs every time he opens his mouth.
Before the Bush program (carried on by Obama and Hillary) of regime change and nation building began, Libya and Syria had some modicum of stability and order. As soon as nation-building enthusiasts started egging on rebels, those countries became failed states torn by ethnic, sectarian, and tribal warfare. I fail to see how that was a "projection of power in a positive way" for us or for anyone else.
If the Pink Panties crowd is panicked and hates Bolton, real Americans welcome a worrier to the club and cheer him on !
I heard that McMaster was picked first because of clandestine military operations. Now that those have been completed, it’s time for tough diplomacy - enter Bolton.
Kind of like Trump changing out campaign managers at different stages of the election season: different people with different skill sets for different parts of the MAGA agenda...
Don’t know if it’s true - but I like to think so!
I'll bet not.
The advisor-designate made clear that his years of writing and speaking about countless issues have left a record he is proud of, but that his job now is to subjugate his views to the president’s.
...
This is why I wasn’t alarmed like some. Bolton is the type of man who will be loyal to his country and to the president.
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.