John Bolton’s tell-all memoir is dismissive of South Korean President Moon Jae-in for seeking to coax President Trump into a denuclearization agreement with North. The fact that South Korea had an independent position toward its nuclear-armed neighbor annoyed Bolton, who expected South Korean deference. But President Moon, elected a platform of reconciliation with North Korea,...
Tag: John Bolton
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John Bolton’s Bogus Defense of ‘Streamlining’ the Pandemic Office
One important step in restoring national safety is identifying demonstrable disinformation from public figures. Case in point: National Security Adviser John Bolton’s explanation of why he dismantled the National Security Council’s Directorate for Global Health Security and Biodefense less than two years ago. Jeremy Konyndyk, a senior policy fellow at the Center for Global Development,...
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Trump Closed the White House Pandemic Office in 2018
Nothing demonstrates the failure of U.S. national security policymaking in the Trump era more than the president’s decision to downgrade the White House’s National Security Council Directorate for Global Health Security and Biodefense less than two years ago. Trump and National Security adviser John Bolton had a conception of “national security” that downplayed the well-known...
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Bolton Pushed Soleimani’s Assassination Last June
National Security adviser John Bolton pushed for the assassination of Iranian Gen Qassem Soleimani last summer, according to U.S. officials cited by NBC News. In a break with past U.S. policy, Bolton recommend killing the Iranian general whose battlefield successes had disturbed U.S. policymakers worried about growing Iranian influence in the region. After Iran shot...
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Bolton v. Trump: The Warmonger Leads the War-Wary
When National Security Adviser John Bolton recently demanded military plans to oust the government of Nicholas Maduro in Venezuela, Trump demurred, reportedly saying his national security adviser was trying to pull him “into a war.” When Bolton demanded “regime change” in Iran and the Pentagon produced a plan to put 120,000 troops into the region,...