John Bolton will push Trump into war(s) and more violent foreign policy

Trump’s main criterion for appointing people is their loyalty to him.  He has been firing people who have tried to moderate Trump’s extremism and recklessness.  In March 2018 he appointed an extremely dangerous person — John Bolton — who has been wrong on a great many issues over the years and who shamelessly lied in order to help Dick Cheney and George W. Bush start their horrible war against Iraq in 2003.

John Bolton will pollute Trump’s mind even further and delude Trump into thinking that he is getting smart advice from an expert, when really Trump will be  getting lies and reinforcement for his own worst instincts.

These articles from March 2018 alert us to John Bolton’s incompetence, recklessness and extreme danger:

–>  Bolton lies and vigorously urges making war on North Korea and Iran.  He spews hatred against Muslims and other targets.  He is a political insider, so his reckless extremism infects our nation’s political elite.  This was posted on March 26, 2018 on www.commondreams.org:  Richard Eskow wrote:  “Bolton has poor judgement, a mean spirit, and an intellect that’s weaker than he thinks. He spreads ethnic hatred and argues for sending others to fight and die.”  Bolton lies and deceives so effectively that he convinces many politicians, including some Democrats, and some powerful mass media sources.  Read Richard Eskew’s article at:  www.tinyurl.com/y7c8qaem

–>  Bolton is an EXTREMIST — even by the neoconservatives’ (neocons’) standards!  This article says Trump has surrounded himself with yes-men and war-mongers.  The article’s lead paragraph says: “The appointment of John Bolton to be the Trump administration’s third national security adviser in the past 14 months, signals a more confrontational approach to the world from an already belligerent regime. Bolton is one of the key figures of neoconservatism, a political tendency that believes that the US should pursue and defend primacy or unlimited power – especially by military means.”  This article by Natasha Ezrow points out that the neocons started as extreme Cold Warriors and continued their mania for militarism and endless war after the Soviet Union collapsed.  Bolton is such an extreme hard-liner that he thought George W. Bush was too soft on Iran and North Korea.  Bolton’s recklessness would “let Trump be Trump” without being held back by knowledgeable persons with more realistic world views.  Read the article at:   www.tinyurl.com/yb29z65g

–> On March 29, 2018, Common Dreams (www.commondreams.org) published an article by Ralph Nader.  That posting begins with this excerpt from Nader’s article immediately under the article’s title:  “For Bolton, the Constitution, federal law, the Geneva Conventions, and other international laws are pieces of paper to be thrown away with unctuous contempt.”  (I added the boldface because Bolton’s contempt for international law needs to be emphasized.  It is similar to Trump’s contempt for the Constitution and the rule of law.)  Nader began his article with this:  “John Bolton’s career of pushing for bombing countries like Iran and North Korea, and his having played an active role in the Bush/Cheney regime’s criminal war of aggression that destroyed Iraq, makes him a clear and present danger to our country and world peace. He is about to become Donald Trump’s personal national security advisor with a staff of 400 right next to the White House. He must be stopped!”  But this notorious liar, bully, hate-monger, and war-monger will have Trump’s ear every day.  Read Nader’s article at:  www.tinyurl.com/ybhq5ded

–>  Also in late March 2018, the well-informed, well-respected Arms Control Association posted an article titled, “Trump Hurtles Toward Three Nuclear Crises.”  The article says Trump has not shown the “principled leadership, pragmatism, patience, and smart diplomacy” that are needed for devising effective, peaceful ways to relate to Iran, North Korea or Russia.  The article explains each of these three current crises.  The article says John Bolton (hired to be National Security Advisor) and Mike Pompeo (nominated to be Secretary of State) are exactly the wrong kinds of people if we want to avoid war, including nuclear war.  Read the article at www.tinyurl.com/y8nr8ejx

–>  The article “10 Reasons to Fear John Bolton” makes a great summary.  Common Dreams posted it on March 27, 2018.  The article devotes one informative article to each of ten specific reasons.  It makes a compelling case.  Read the article at www.tinyurl.com/yamvabrk

–> The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, the decades-old non-profit organization that works to prevent nuclear war, has written several articles expressing alarm about John Bolton as a serious threat to Planet Earth because of his eagerness to start wars and his enthusiasm for nuclear weapons.  See www.thebulletin.org for several articles.  One article about the international deal (achieved through diplomacy) that has successfully prevented a nuclear weapons program in Iran is posted at https://thebulletin.org/bolton-threat-iran-nuclear-deal11645  Both Trump and Bolton want to trash the deal.

 

 

 

About GlenAnderson 1499 Articles
Since the late 1960s Glen Anderson has devoted his life to working as a volunteer for peace, nonviolence, social justice, and progressive political issues. He has worked through many existing organizations and started several. Over the years he has worked especially for such wide-ranging goals as making peace with Vietnam, eliminating nuclear weapons, converting from a military economy to a peacetime economy, abolishing the death penalty, promoting nonviolence at all levels throughout society, and helping people organize and strategize for grassroots movements to solve many kinds of problems. He writes, speaks, and conducts training workshops on a wide variety of topics. Since 1987 he has produced and hosted a one-hour cable TV interview program on many kinds of issues. Since 2017 he has blogged at https://parallaxperspectives.org He lives in Lacey near Olympia WA. You can reach him at (360) 491-9093 glen@parallaxperspectives.org