John Bolton Has Wanted War With Iran Since Before You Were Born
Fourteen months into his tenure as national security adviser, John Bolton has become a central figure in the run-up to what could be the most extensive American military offensive since the invasion of Iraq. Tensions between Iran and the United States have been high for weeks, beginning with a menacing video Bolton released in February targeting the Iranian supreme leader and reached a boil last week when, according the New York Times, he ordered the Pentagon to prepare to send as many as 120,000 troops to the Middle East to counter Iran.
His saber-rattling in the Middle East comes on the heels of his recent and unsuccessful public campaign to topple President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela, which left President Donald Trump complaining privately that Bolton wants to get him “into a war,” the Washington Post reported. Trump, long an opponent of America’s “endless wars” despite initially supporting the Iraq invasion, reportedly “prefers a diplomatic approach” to Iran as well and “wants to speak directly with Iran’s leaders,” a Post story noted Wednesday evening. The ensuing debate has left Trump, who once promised to “bomb the shit” out of Islamic State terrorists, in the unusual position of moderating his notoriously hawkish national security adviser.
“He has strong views on things but that’s okay,” Trump said during a White House press conference last week. “I actually temper John, which is pretty amazing.”
What’s also pretty amazing is how frequently Bolton has argued in favor of regime change in Iran, an enemy he has been fixated on for decades. As early as May 2002, Bolton considered Iran’s “ongoing interest in nuclear weapons” a threat to the United States on par with North Korea and Iraq. Then the top arms control official in the State Department, Bolton continued to emphasize the threat of Iran to American security and the security of Israel, even during the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq. In February 2003, he assured Prime Minister Ariel Sharon during a visit to Israel that “it would be necessary” for the United States to “deal with” threats from Iran, Syria, and North Korea after ousting Saddam Hussein. The prior year, a senior British official told Newsweek that President George W. Bush’s national security team was fixated on Iran even more than Iraq. “Everyone wants to go to Baghdad,” the official said. “Real men want to go to Tehran.”
But why does Bolton care so much about Iran, a country that for decades was a pariah in the international community and kept in check by the stranglehold of American sanctions? The none-too-simple answer resides in his understanding of America’s place in the world and opposition to any limits on American power.
The roots of Bolton’s warmongering against Iran
As a diplomat and national security official across four Republican administrations, from Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump, Bolton has made the case for regime change in North Korea and Syria, among other places. But Iran remained a persistent concern for him, due to its alleged links to terrorism and burgeoning nuclear program. Once he left his position as ambassador to the United Nations in the Bush White House in 2006, he began more openly criticizing Bush’s Iran policy as too soft, calling it “four and a half years of failed diplomacy.” In an appearance on Fox News in 2008, Bolton argued in favor of bombing Iranian camps that the US said were training insurgents to oppose American troops in Iraq. “This is not provocative or preemptive—this is entirely responsive,” he said. “If we don’t respond, the Iranians will take it as a sign of weakness.”
MOTHER JONES POLITICS
MAY 17, 2019
Dan Spinelli
Tucker Carlson Just NUKED John Bolton, With Best INSULT Ever
The Next News Network
Published on 26 Jun 20
War is a Disaster for Americans, but for John Bolton and his NeoCon friends its just good business ! " Tucker Carlson.
