Face It, Trump Allows Bolton Free Reign Because He Is a Boltonist Himself

Donald J. has done more to lay the groundwork for war with Iran than any president before him

“For someone ‘not playing along,’ Trump has obediently given Bolton and the Iran hawks practically everything they have wanted so far”

Jason Rezaian engages in a bit of wishful thinking of his own:

Is John Bolton about to get the Iran war he’s always wanted, or is he on the verge of losing his job?

Over the past several days, President Trump’s national security adviser has made comments and issued statements about Iran and Venezuela that are usually reserved for the run-up to military campaigns.

Yet Bolton’s boss doesn’t seem to be playing along.

There is an understandable desire to see Bolton and Trump sharply at odds over foreign policy, but I’m not sure why anyone thinks it is happening. In the L.A. Times article I cited earlier, there is a quote from former ambassador Christopher Hill where he says something similar:

“The president is so dead set against military engagement anywhere, and Bolton is so dead set on military engagement, it has left the administration speaking without one voice and overall being sort of feckless.”

If Trump and Bolton disagreed with each other this much, it is difficult to explain why Bolton is still allowed to have free rein in making the administration’s foreign policy.

For someone “not playing along,” Trump has obediently given Bolton and the Iran hawks practically everything they have wanted so far. He has gone much further in laying the groundwork for war with Iran than any of his predecessors, and the only reason that many people seem confident that he won’t order an attack is their mistaken belief that he is a non-interventionist when all of the evidence tells us that he is no such thing.

Trump presumably doesn’t want to start a multi-year, extremely expensive war that could also throw the economy into a recession, but then every president that launches an illegal war of choice assumes that the war would be much easier and take less time than it does. No one ever knowingly opts for a bloody debacle.

The absurdly optimistic hawkish expectations of a quick and easy triumph are always dashed on the rocks of reality, but for some reason political leaders believe these expectations every time because “this time it’s different.” There will come a point where Bolton will tell Trump that attacking Iran (or Venezuela) is the only way to “win,” and Trump will probably listen to him just as he has listened to him on all of these issues up until now.

There is no question that Bolton should lose his job. Even if you aren’t an opponent of Trump, you should be unhappy with the way Bolton has been operating for the last year. He has made a point of sabotaging administration policies he doesn’t like, resisting decisions he doesn’t agree with, and effectively reversing policy changes while pretending to be carrying out the president’s wishes.

His mismanagement of the policy process is a bad joke, and the reason he runs the National Security Council this way is so that he can stop views and information that don’t suit his agenda from reaching the president. But Trump pays little or no attention to any of this, and as long as Bolton remains loyal in public and a yes-man in person he is likely safe in his job.

If Bolton gets his wish and the U.S. starts a war with Iran, he may not be in that job for much longer, but the damage will have already been done. Instead of counting on Trump to toss Bolton overboard, Congress and the public need to make absolutely clear that war with Iran and Venezuela is unacceptable and Trump will be destroying his presidency if he goes down that path in either country.

Source: The American Conservative

7 Comments
  1. Jerry Wayne Carver says
  2. JustPassingThrough says

    attack iran?

    oil 500$$ a barrel?
    do i hear 700$$ a barrel?

    but the u.s. doesn’t need to worry. their christian secy of state deacon of his church has said the u.s. is now exporting oil. lmao

  3. thomas malthaus says

    North Korea has test launched a second missile in as many weeks. I’m not sure this is Mr. Kim’s way of saying don’t bring Mike Pompeo and John Bolton to another summit–assuming that may occur.

    Perhaps the North Korean leader’s message (in light of US military ops in Venezuela and Iran) is that we can’t trust President Trump and his team. Furthermore, a message may be implied that the Russia-China-North Korea military and economic alliance is solidifying.

    1. Jake321 says

      LOL…the mouse and the cockroach claim an alliance with the elephant…you are very entertaining…

  4. CHUCKMAN says

    I’m not sure what Trump is.

    I’m not sure that Trump even knows himself.

    The one thing of which I am certain is that Trump has a gigantic ego and not very much to be egotistical about.

    He was frightened of the powerful attempts to unseat him.

    He turned to various elements of America’s Israel Lobby for support and a huge war chest for 2020, and he got them.

    The price was appointing such vultures as Bolton, Pompeo, and Abrams, and he is stuck with them.

    The price also included giving Israel things that were not his legally to give.

    This is a man of no content, no principles, save his regard for the importance of himself.

    He has achieved literally nothing anywhere for his supporters, has alienated everyone else, but has never stopped making noises in praise of himself and the lowest appeals against migrants and refugees.

    He couldn’t be more dangerous.

  5. JustPassingThrough says

    “Trump Turns On Bolton, Accuses Him Of ‘Trying To Start A War’ In Venezuela: WaPo”

    see: http://www.zerohedge.com

  6. John C Carleton says

    Bolton is an Israhell citizen, Trump is an anti-American, Israhell firster, who is owned by the Khazarian mafia, lock, stock and barrel.

    So if you want to know what the Khazarian Ratschilds are up to, just look at what USA/WASHINGTON DC is up to.
    https://i0.wp.com/www.johnccarleton.org/BLOGGER/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Donald-trump-Israeli-Puppet.jpg?fit=600%2C381

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