I like John Bolton. I’ve met him. Smart guy. He’s a bit hawkish, and I think that might be why he has resigned as President Trump’s National security adviser. Despite the left’s nuclear fear-mongering, Trump seems more interested in getting us out of foreign wars than into them.
Related: Trump Fires Bolton Via Twitter
That’s not to say Bolton’ advice was no good. He opposed the Syria pullout and successfully prevented it. He didn’t think Trump should meet with Taliban leaders, nor Iranian leaders. And he was not pleased with the President’s approach to North Korea.
Bolton will have made good points. But Trump likes to meet people so he can read them. measure them. He’s good at it. But these are nasty regimes. And Trump knows that. But there’s an art to the deal. And while getting us out of these places is a good idea, vacuums fill. ISIS is an excellent example of this. And there is a point to be made about not giving them legitimacy.
Bolton and Trump were meant to disagree and give them both credit for trying it anyway.
So, here’s a decent summation of the situation from some Boston Globe coverage.
Bolton was always an unlikely pick to be Trump’s third national security adviser, with a world view seemingly ill-fit to the president’s isolationist ‘‘America First’’ pronouncements.
Bolton is a global engagement guy. Not sure he’s still (or was ever) seriously into the nation-building business but he views threats to us and our allies as things best dealt with over there rather than here. An idea I find it difficult to dislike.
Sure, there’s an audience for the argument that this strategy is what “brought them” here — the terrorists. But any sensible research into the history and public statements (from the Middle East) shows that jihad on our doorstep was inevitable. Look up, “first the Saturday people, and then the Sunday.”
So, in my opinion, the US presence argument is just a convenient point that the PR arm of the Islamo-fascist Action Network feeds to America-hating leftist appeasement monkeys. To like, and share!
But all Islamic terror is in the service of Allah and the Global Ummah. There are no lone wolves.
Bolton gets that and feels more comfortable as an interventionist. He’s cautious. He views American diplomacy power the way Trump views US Trade power. At least that is my sense. But Trump is the president. And for the next 72 hours (depending on the next new thing), we’ll hear about a lot that makes no difference to much of anything.
As for Bolton, he can write a book to the fawning acclaim of the left or right. Never-Trumpers read too.
Unless it’s like Mattis’ book. He took Obama to the woodshed. Wrong president. Bad man.
Hey, there’s always twitter.
