Slamming 71-year-old President Donald Trump for picking 69-year-old former U.N. Amb. John Bolton as his new National Security Adviser, the media can’t decide what to do next. On the one hand, the media criticizes Trump for seeking Cabinet full of sycophants yet, on the other, rips Trump for picking someone with opposite views. Trump differed sharply with Bolton on the Iraq War, where Bolton wholeheartedly backed former President George W. Bush. Bolton was a centerpiece in Bush’s Neocon cabal that opted for war against Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein to purge his alleged arsenal of weapons of mass destruction. Bolton walked in lock-step with former Bush Secretary of State Colin Powell, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, all of whom stuck their reputations on Saddam’s WMD arsenal.
Since announcing his pick of Bolton yesterday, the media has characterized Bolton as a war monger, ready-and-willing to use U.S. military force to resolve conflicts in Iran and North Korea. While it’s true that Bolton tends to be more hawkish, it’s also true he’s National Security Adviser, not Defense Secretary or Secretary of State. Bolton’s way down the food chain when it comes to presidential decision-making when it comes to war and peace issues. Yet if you listen to the hysteria in the anti-Trump media, you’d think that Bolton now decides on all matters of war and peace. In the wake of Sept. 11, Bolton became as strong backer of Israel, as the U.S.’s closest Mideast ally in the fight against Islamic terror. “President Trump is continuing to appoint true friends of Israel to senior positions. John Bolton stands out among them,” said Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked.
Palestine Liberation Organization Hanan Ashawi slammed Trump’s pick, citing Bolton’s hostility toward Palestinians. Bolton was part of the Bush-43 White House when Palestinians danced-in-the-streets, celebrating Osama bin Laden’s Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. Bolton recalls well Palestinians’ joy when the World Trade Center Twin-Towers went down, signaling a shift in U.S. policy. Former President George W. Bush no longer backed PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat for his past and current pro-terrorist policies against Israel. Arafat did his best to sell Palestinian terrorism as legitimate resistance against Israeli occupation but it didn’t work. After Sept. 11, Arafat and PLO were marginalized by Bush-43 for the remainder of his two terms as president. More hostile talk about Bolton only reminds U.S. voters about how Palestinians celebrated after Sept. 11.
Palestinians never owned their reaction to Sept. 11, despite the U.S. paying millions in financial aid. “This man has a long history of hostility to Palestinians, dating to when he was at the United Nations, where he was protecting Israel immunity,” Ashrawi told the Agence Presse France [AFP]. Palestinians are too tone deaf to anti-American rhetoric to understand how criticizing Bolton hurts their cause. Bolton “has joined with extremist Zionists, fundamentalist Christians and white racists,” said Ashrawi, digging the PLO into a deeper hole. Bolton, a Yale undergraduate and Law School graduate, it a foreign policy expert with tons of experience on the Mideast. He knows that today’s split between Hamas in Gaza and the PLO in the West Bank, makes it impossible to negotiate a two-state solution. Palestinians pretend that today’s divided Palestine can negotiate Mideast peace or a two-state solution.
Trump picked Bolton because he needed an experienced foreign policy expert to deal with what promises to be critical decisions on Iran and North Korea. Unlike former National Security H.R. McMaster, Bolton has plenty of experience with Iran and North Korea. Bolton recalls well Bush-43’s failed attempts to stop North Korea’s nuke and ballistic missile program. Whether the Palestinians or Iranians like Bolton’s views or not, he’s got the experience and knowledge to advise Trump how to deal with Iran and North Korea. Heading into a meeting in May with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, Bolton gives Trump the best possible leverage to disarm Kim’s nukes and ballistic missiles. Kim knows not to mess with Bolton because he’s on record to use military force to stop Kim’s nuke and ballistic missile program. While Kim might see Trump as bluffing, he knows now Trump means business.
National Security Advisers don’t set U.S. foreign or defense policy. If you listen to media, you’d think that Bolton now calls the shots when it comes to major foreign policy decisions. Bolton adds a degree of heft to the ongoing diplomatic efforts to get Kim to disarm his nukes and ballistic missiles. His appointment sends a message to Tehran that they’d better not deviate from the 2015 Comprehensive Plan of Action AKA “Iranian Nuke Deal,” or risk having the U.S. cancel the agreement. Bolton’s appointment signals not that the U.S. looks for war but that it carries more weight into upcoming negotiations with Pyongyang and Tehran. Instead of Palestinians slamming Bolton as a Zionist, they should look to mend the split between Hamas and the PLO and get back to the peace table. Picking Bolton gave Trump the most knowledgeable and experienced foreign policy hand on deck.
