LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 29: Former United States ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton speaks during the Republican Jewish Coalition spring leadership meeting at The Venetian Las Vegas on March 29, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Republican Jewish Coalition began its annual meeting wtih potential Republican presidential candidates in attendence, along with Republican super donor Sheldon Adelson. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump has shaken up his foreign policy team. He replaced Secretary of State Rex Tillerson with CIA Director Mike Pompeo, and last week President Trump announced that he would remove National Security Advisor H. R. McMaster and put John Bolton in that position. This installment of John Bolton as the new National Security Adviser to President Donald Trump is a good choice but is a little too late. John Bolton, an ultra hawkish conservative who gained fame and prominence in the George W. Bush administration, is a believer in American power and a confrontational advocate of the Bush offense doctrine, the strategy that goes after American threats outside American territory. Bolton recognizes that global affairs lack strong leadership, signaled by the chaos and by the need for a new Security choice. Now, the Trump administration will benefit from a new security advisor who knows and understands China, North Korea, Iran, and Russia, and who contends that radicalism must be thwarted. It will not be easy or quick but is better than nothing. Unlike Pompeo, John Bolton will not require Senate confirmation. He is expecting to assume his duty sometimes in April.
McMaster and Tillerson never had good working relations with President Trump because of differences in policy and personality. McMaster had a mixed policy, and, like Tillerson, was cautious in walking away from the Iran nuclear deal. Bolton took a hard line position on North Korea, and he argued that time was running out for a diplomatic solution. President Trump is not an easy person to work for, but time will tell how the President will respond to Bolton’s blunt personality and storming hawkish opinions. Once thing for sure is that with Pompeo at the State Department and especially John Bolton in the White House, there will be a more aggressive or warlike foreign policy. Mike Pompeo, now as the head of State Department, has raised a lot of concern among the Europeans countries. As the former director of the CIA, Pomeo has played a significant role in supporting right-wing and nationalist groups in Europe. There is no doubt, however, that many in the State Department are relieved to see Rex Tillerson leave, believing he will go down as one who undermined America’s diplomatic power and marginalized the Department of State. Pompeo will need to operate shrewdly to tackle the Iran agreement, negotiate a North Korea meeting, and redirect the US foreign and civil services.
The new national security appointment, John Bolton, will likewise cement the demise of the Iranian nuclear deal and bring about other major changes. Established in 1947 and placed in the Executive branch two years later, the US National Security Council remains an important forum because it advises and assists the President on national security and foreign policy. NSC has its own team of senior security advisors who work with cabinet officials directly under the President. As chair of the NSC, President Trump will have a tough policy toward Iran in the Middle East. Like the Saudis, the Israelis see Iran as their greatest existential threat, and while Americans are tired of wars, other countries seem not inclined to shy away from conflict.
However, John Bolton, the National Security Advisor designate, is known for being frank about his views and even bellicose in his policies. Bolton’s stance on North Korea leaves no room for equivocation; he believes that North Korea and its nuclear program pose a threat to the US, and that, consequently, the US should act now preemptively rather than waiting until the last minute. It is on the matter of their opposing views on the Iran nuclear deal that President Trump fired his former Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, on Twitter, having criticized him intensely. John Bolton shares Trump’s position on the Iranian nuclear deal as well as to the proper US response to it. When the President reached a nuclear agreement deal with Iran, John Bolton argued in the New York Times that only military action would be the solution. He also presents the case that America should aim for a regime change in Iran.
Mr. Bolton emerged as one of the most controversial ambassadors when George W. Bush nominated him to be US ambassador to the UN. Bolton was not a big fan of the United Nations and pushed for its reform. In hindsight about President George W. Bush’s declaring war on Iraq in 2003, John Bolton believes the Iraq War was not a mistake, strongly backs the Bush war in Iraq that removed Saddam Hussein, and considers the US’s withdrawal a terrible strategy. Known by some for being recalcitrant, John Bolton was accused of trying to get rid of two intelligence analysts who disagreed with him and of seeking to undermine his boss, Colin Powell. He also allegedly helped to build false evidence against Saddam Hussein’s possession of weapons of mass destruction, which turned out to be false. Bolton portrayed the Russians’ intervention in the 2016 election as a true act of war, and one that Washington should never tolerate. When President Trump met President Putin, and Putin denied intervening in American election, Bolton argued that the Russian leader was lying with the benefit of the best KGB training.
On the other hand, the Bolton move suggests that the President is at least beginning to recognize that he needs experts for his foreign policy. Most likely, Bolton will work well with the new Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo. and with the Secretary of Defense, Jim Mattiss, especially on the question of how to deal with the Iranian regime. All three—Bolton, Pompeo, and Mattiss— have been outspoken on the Russia threat to American national security. Russia and Iran are not happy with the President’s choices. Leftist congressional and senatorial members will challenge the Bolton appointment. Already some of the senators are accusing Bolton of extremism. There is no doubt that he is tough,and he is going to use neoconservative principles of crafting foreign
policy in order to advance democracy. The President cannot afford to continue the failed established foreign policy of appeasement. With the President’s new team, Pompeo heading the State Department, and Bolton cleaning up the National Security Council, Trump is ready to get tough on the Middle East, North Korea, Iran, and Russia. Such a foreign policy will probably lead to Iran strengthening its ties with Russia and China countering these tough stances expected from the Trump administration.
Dr. Aland Mizell is President of the MCI and a regular contributor to Mindanao Times. You may email the author at:aland_mizell2@hotmail.com
