You're right, I would not compare Roosevelt and trxmp. There is literally no comparison.
1
DJT and John Bolton, damaging our nation as they have done and continue doing, are not the 'cause' of our greatest problems, but are a particularly destructive result of those problems. Our fundamental problems are inherent in our history. The 1619 project documents the consequences of the lust for ever greater wealth. The basis of wealth evolved from enslaved humans as property, and land seized from a native population, by genocide if necessary. After almost two centuries of our history. wealthy white males created a new nation, and a brilliant Constitution, which defined a three part government, to balance each other, and means to adapt with needed amendment. The 'political' system which has evolved is broken. More and more, the 'system' is driven by the increasing extreme wealth of a tiny fraction of our people, who have gained ever greater control of who is elected, and what they must represent. We have created the expectation of 'more' for some rather than 'enough' for all. Our principal resource is to know and understand each other's needs and contributions ... and to vote and choose our leaders as if the future depends on us. It does!
Another instance or example of Trump picking just the 'best people'. Bolton was a disaster in the wings from the moment he was nominated to his position. His extreme hawkish positions were well known and clearly never aligned with Trump. Why did Trump select him is a mystery as is why Bolton accepted. His departure is no loss. The issue of course who will replace Bolton. Likely no seasoned and decent person would accept Trump's offer to join his 'team'. Sadly Trump is convinced in national security issues as in all matters that he's the smartest person in the room. Trump will be his own National Security Adviser with some input from Secretary Pompeo whose advice is suspect since he is always looking to suck-up to Trump at every opportunity. No doubt Pompeo has further political ambitions and wants Trump's support.
1
"burn it down"
Over my life I have on occasion worked around, with, or for aging (almost all) males who were self absorbed, aggressive, and destructive. I suppose most of us have. Literature and history gives many examples over millennia.
What disturbs me most about today's power figures (such as Bolton, Bannon, trump, etc.) were some lines in Marquis de Sade in which he describes the rapacious animosity of older males toward the males (and of course females) of the next generation.
This characteristic of the human 1% and 0.1% in a modern era when the scale of energy use waste byproducts will destabilize global climate systems; electronic control systems are vulnerable to attack; and a substantial inventory of weapons is in place is maladaptive.
1
The map behind Bolton says it all. China is colored a bright red, as in "Red Scare". They all still think the "Commies" are out to get us.
6
I don't know what is more frightening - a clueless, erratic President, or an experienced National Security Advisor whose greatest fault is his steady "Let's bomb them!" dogma.
1
Thank you for this well-informed analysis on the truly destructive nature of Bolton's tenure. It is a stark contrast to the gossipy, light-on-substance piece by Bret Stephens on Bolton. As a war-monger with a horrible track record for being wrong and insensitive to civilian and military deaths, Bolton should have never been in this position--his parting gifts are now the death and destruction following the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and the dismantling of the National Security Council. If Trump makes further erratic foreign policy moves, that's on Bolton too.
2
In fact, it's very difficult to break anything Trump has
touched . He fractures whatever he comes across
immediately. Procedure and structure be ignored.
The amazing thing is how shallow the American procedures
apparently were and how easily ignored. Or never noted.
1
Bolton was a loose cannon rolling around on the deck of the ship of state. Good riddence.
Having read a few comments before offering this one, I agree the thesis of "the breaking of the federal government" that John Bolton supposedly contributed to--tho there's little evidence produced here that he's responsible in foreign policy--is a little too neat and tidy. However, responsibility of "The Great Divider" Trump, as well as the party he represents more than most seem willing to admit, for breaking people's confidence in government is always a viable argument.
There's not much that can't be reversed about the Trump presidency, except for lost immediate opportunities and long-term popular cynicism and lost confidence in government to attack complex problems with some public confidence in its obtuse, complex forms. Again, the confidence that our founders tried to establish in a government by, for, and of the people (forgive the mixing of history here) has been shaken in ways that may not easily be salvageable by Trumpism.
1
FDR saved democracy in the 20th century. Trump is now its greatest enemy. Please don't compare them.
51
@Martin Wolf there is an argument that better communication in Washington could have prevented the disaster of Pearl Harbor. Nobody is perfect. Especially with the benefit of hindsight.
3
@Martin Wolf I hesitate to be contrarian, but some might might argue the true savior of democracy was George Marshall than FDR. One might also argue that by forging a military-indutrial complex that persists today, Marshall brought about the demise of American democracy, if not the whole world's democracies. One could, I suppose, also argue that by saving capitalism in the 1930s policies initiated by FDR have led inexorably to this second 'gilded' age, but those are caused far more by the mobilization of the plutocracy reaching its apotheosis under Reagan: the demise of organized labor; the monetization of the environment; the co-optation of the press are consequences of Reagan's corrupt charm.
8
@D. Yohalem That's impressively contrarian, but unreasonable. Democracy is never saved forever. It has to be saved in every generation. FDR brought hope back to the US in the 1930s and then led the country in a victorious war. George Marshall served him. He was a great man, but a servant of the president. Once the US became the world's greatest power, its military pre-eminence was bound to become a dominant concern. Being essentially disarmed in the 1930s did not help the US. If it had not been, World War II would probably not have happened. The world is a difficult place, full of hard choices. FDR made the right choices in his time for his time. That made him a great president.
5
This article doesn't mention of Bolton making threats to his juniors ,making threats against UN and UN officials . He can be mentioned in future as the flag bearer of the rot .
1
I want to yell this from the roof top: The most dysfunction of all are the Trump voters!! Without their staunch and blind support to Trump, the Republican Congress would not be so spineless and would have done more of what Congress should do, exercising the check and balance of the legislative branch upon the president.
The TRUMP SUPPORTERS are responsible for the dysfunction in our WH, our Congress, our government, our country, and our world. These several millions of people are controlling the faith of billions, how very obscene.
2
Bolton has been a deadbolt on the best of American ideals for so long that his appointment was predictably so bad that another war would be the only thing to satisfy him. He was right, for the wrong reasons to disagree with having the Taliban in Camp David. Bolton has profited for so long from the rightwing propagandists that he might not have any core beliefs to benefit American interests other than his own. good riddance. No we have one fewer madman in the White House.
1
An incompetent empty suit, known to be an incompetent empty suit, hired by an incompetent grifter.
How much more still-hidden damage will be found?
3
it is the United States that is in free fall. Not this, or that agency. This will become (perhaps) clear in hindsight even to Homo Amerikanus, currently wallowing in his own delightful ignorance, wrecking of his own country, and shouting in internet forums "let it burn"!
1
I don't think FDR and Bolton belong in the same sentence.
3
"Mr. Bolton’s singular achievement was to dismantle a foreign-policymaking structure that had until then kept the president from running foreign policy by the seat of his pants."
The incompetence and hubris of this administration truly is breath taking.
1
So you are optimistic about the future... Yay!
2
@Wes
BEST COMMENT EVER!
1
Trump and his allies set out to essentially destroy the federal government. This has also been the republican agenda for years now so it is surprising that Bolton got the boot for doing such good work. But we should all recognize the phony republican agenda for what it is: the complete take over of America by corporate greed and unrestrained capitalism. Apparently, Bolton failed to give them enough war for profit.
1
I did not welcome to opportunity to read about the White House breaking yet another vital component of our democratic machinery. But head in the sand won't do, despite the trauma. That is the price of keeping Franklin's democracy.
Breaking stuff, i.e., revolution, or burning society to the ground, in the Trumpy or Sanders sense, is simply a miserable idea. It lets the loudest most unfit voice in the room run amok.
Yes, breaking stuff is what Bolton did--with hubris, ideological blinders, and extreme naivete. The Bush Iraq WMD lie, which Bolton was a significant party to, makes more sense now. The Republicans broke the Middle East.
At least Bolton had the courage of his convictions, and was willing to stand up to Trump. I'll give him that much.
By contrast, the servile Pompeo looks all the more frightening now. Pompeo has abjectly subordinated himself to Trump. Pompeo apparently has no principles, no convictions, no morals, no limits.
3
Good riddance to the war monger Bolton, but this historical analysis is shaky. It isn't really accurate to say that FDR micromanaged World War II. The war effort was far too large for that. In Europe, Eisenhower had enormous power to make decisions. Further, while Trump is truly awful, let us not romanticize the security establishment and its history of getting things horribly wrong.
29
I've always thought that John Bolton is an honorable, well-meaning and patriotic American. The issue, though, is that he sees the world through a set of glasses where the solution to all our problems and issues can be attained by starting a war. Frankly, we've been involved in enough idiotic, pointless wars in the past, Vietnam being only one of many examples. Hopefully, Bolton's permanent replacement (if there can ever be a permanent replacement in the Trump administration) will have a more balanced view of the issues and their potential solutions.
I must have misunderstood the comparison between FDR & DT cited in this article. FDR for all his faults was a brilliant man, a man whose first priority was to serve all his fellow citizens regardless of their wealth or social standing, a man who truly loved this country & who fully understood the horrifying danger presented by Hitler. This is only my opinion, of course, but I personally am unable to find any comparison between FDR, one of our greatest Presidents, and the rotting carcass currently squatting in our WH.
4
@Jane
Read up on FDR and you may change your mind a bit; at least a little. No one truly knew FDR, even his wife. He did not let anyone "in" to see his true self, except his secretary who satisfied his desires I suppose. He was an actor-president on par with Ronald Reagan. Many people had no idea that he was almost a complete invalid. While FDR's policies might have helped in boosting morale in the country, they did not get us out of the depression like many love to say they did. WWII did that. FDR also would never have gotten us involved in WWII against Hitler unless we were attacked, and I've also read that he was fascinated with Stalin and even admired Hitler for a time.
What an appalling and sad state of affairs for the country.
1
Bolton wanted war with North Korea, but Trump wanted to please Putin and kiss up.......and now North Korea is making newer and bigger missiles. Bolton wanted war with Iraq, but Trump wanted to please Putin and kill the Iran deal.....and now Iran is refining more uranium and racing toward nukes even faster. Really, did Bolton expect to keep his job when his boss was working against everything he stood for?
1
@patriot
War is not the answer for the world today. Below it there's no other. War is not the way.
War is not the answer for the world today. Below it there's no other. War is not the way.
War is not the answer for the world today. Below it there's no other. War is not the way.
War is not the answer for the world today. Below it there's no other. War is not the way.
Whatever Bolton may have done to weaken the National Security Council is of no importance when it is Trump himself who is responsible for the broken nature of our governmental system as well as those in Congress, mostly Republicans, who have allowed it to happen.
1
Mr Bolton may have been the agent used but the simple fact is all of the damage being done to our nation and the established government agencies is down to the GOP and the conspiracy to destroy the New Deal and government for the people they have been engaged in since the Nixon admin.
3
Big difference with Roosevelt. We WON that war.
3
"At a moment of division at home and disarray abroad, the breaking of the federal government is the most consequential crisis of all."
Oh, put a stake through my heart! A truer concluding sentence about Trump may never be written. Yes, he is breaking the federal government. Separating out his alleged obvious personality disorders and other mental incapacities, that he was "awed" by the enormity of the job of President is striking. He was awed by the fact that he had no idea how to deal with such enormity. His life experience had been to that point as a small businessman. There may have been large dollars involved, but measured by the number of employees and tasks to be managed, the Trump Organization is a small, family business. So despite being awed, he decided to run the country as he ran his business. He created a narrow, top-down structure with himself at the top, dictating all actions, policies, and, most important, all communications. And he has, indeed, broken the federal government. Let us hope it is not broken beyond repair.
3
Bolton's job is effectively done. We can pretend that there were policy differences between Trump and Bolton, but the real job was to further dismantle what's termed "the swamp" by the deep thinkers in the 'American al-qaeda', the base. They don't know the consequences they will reap, but there is a clue this date, September 11th.
2
The GOP and Trump want to drown the federal government, as Grover Norquist put it. Trump put in the divisive and error-ridden Bolton (WMD in Iraq: what has that cost us/the poor Iraqis/the entire region awash in Shia/Shiite furor), then kicked him out, the third in a row of chaotic rule by the unruly and ignorant Trump. Woe is me/us as I/we rue the day Trump decided running for president might be more of a thrill than the corny tv show. You're Fired! When will that day arrive? Every day in every way of his administration has been one day too many while Trump serves.
1
The dismantling of the National Security Council under John Bolton is news to me. How was this done and why wasn't it under the radar of daily journalism? Can this Humpy Dumpty be put together again?
1
Anyone else remember the nasty foul mess Bolton created at the United Nations?
He has to possess the most foul disposition of any government
Nerd, EXCEPT, that title still belongs to Mitch McConnell.
Ah, what a duo playing around in the swamp with our present
And future.
1
Mr Gans neglected to mention Bolton's role in the Bush II administration: the illegal, poorly planned and unprovoked invasion of Iraq. That invasion was a realization of Bolton's philosophy that began a Middle Eastern firestorm that continues now, 16 yrs later, and has no foreseeable end.
Will Bolton now return to Fox News and become yet another behind-the-curtain influence on the rudderless, ignorant and self-absorbed fool in the Oval Office?
3
I learned something, but not what I expected. I had no idea that Trump actually consults with Fox news personality Tucker Carlson about matters of international consequence.
Ah, of course Trump trusts Fox and few others. We'd be better off selecting administrators from the citizenry at random. It's called 'sortition'. The Greek gods used sortition to appoint positions In Ancient Greek mythology... Zeus got the sky, Poseidon the sea, and Hades the underworld. So, the mortals who believed in those gods used a similar system to pick their administrators.
Our gods have become Internet trolls, rappers, athletes, actors on the big screen, and pundits on the small. No wonder we gave away the country. They can't tell right from wrong and neither can we. How else do you explain it?
And to think our free press helped elect the traitor by lavishing him with free press every single day because it was good for "ratings" and "profits."
1
Thought experiment:
Let’s contemplate a radical idea. What would be the likely outcome of a complete withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan?
Almost assuredly the country would revert to its historical state of extreme tribalism. Is that a bad thing? It seems inevitable with or without our intervention.
What is the opportunity cost of our continuing to pour vast resources into American intervention?
To name a few... crumbling infrastructure, our unsustainable national debt, etc.
25
@Davewv
Sadly we all know that our crumbling infrastructure and our unsustainable debt won't be fixed even if we pull out of Afghanistan. Certainly some funds will be saved but they'll stay in the Defense Dept for sure.
18
It was precisely that tribalism that enabled Osama Bin Ladin and the Taliban to engineer Sept 11.
22
@Davewv I guess that since you're not a woman, the Taliban's brutal treatment of them has no importance to you. Not that I agree with being there, but I also don't want to make these women's lives even worse.
32
I blame Pompeo as much as Bolton for breaking the National Security Council, along with Trump of course. Trump breaks, corrupts or kills whatever he touches but those who abet his destruction all share blame.
5
I am not happy with any president who makes decisions on his or her own but Roosevelt was at least a lot better equipped to do so than our current president. Congress needs to make sure the executive branch of our government doesn't have the power to override everyone. This executive branch today consists of one unstable man and his sycophants who rubber stamp everything or even lead him to worse ideas (Stephen Miller).
3
i'm no fan of Trump or his cronies, but also no fan of our national security apparatus - spearheaded by the National Security Counsel - which has saddled us with the largest military budget in the world BY FAR and the most military actions in the world since WWII -- BY FAR.
i don't think we're losing much.
"Whether Mr. Trump names a replacement for Mr. Bolton does not matter: No one is going to convince the president he needs a system now, let alone the one that existed for 70 years."
Too many here seem to be fighting the political equivalent of the last war. The KEY statement in this column by John Gans is the one quoted above.
THIS is the issue that should be of greatest concern going FORWARD.
The urgency of dealing with the potential evils of a radically narcissistic imPOTUS like DFT (not a typo) cannot be overstated.
Let's look again at that statement:
"Whether Mr. Trump names a replacement for Mr. Bolton does not matter: No one is going to convince the president he needs a system now, let alone the one that existed for 70 years."
If that doesn't turn the taste of your morning coffee to copper in your mouth, you're not paying attention--or not sufficiently versed in foreign policy to understand the new level of danger this moment brings.
This is not about what happened.
It's about what happens now.
1
Whether Bolton is responsible for braking the National Security Council or not is of minor consequence.
The fact is, much more than the NSC is broken. America is broken. And Trump has not done it by himself.
The Republicans in Congress and their voters across the country are more responsible than Trump for breaking America. If it were not for them playing their critical unAmerican roles, Trump would never have entered the White House, or he would have been impeached within the first year of his sadministration.
3
No need to look beyond Trump to understand the chaos that has enveloped America.
1
Today on the anniversary of 9-11, it is clear the greatest threat to our national security is Donald Trump.
I cannot help reflecting on the ineptness, mistakes and coverup of the causes of the 9-11 tragedy with an administration in 2001 that had dropped its guard allowing that horrendous attack. No amount of subsequent obfuscation by Condi or Bush Jr. convinced me otherwise.
Now the country is totally at risk as the NSA ha and our intelligence apparatus have been weakened and we have no one minding the store on grave issues of national security. John Bolton was a foil to make conservatives happy that we
did not have an administration in bed with the Russians and soft on North Korea. Now we have the likes of Tucker Carlson, Jared Kushner and Sean Hannity advising a president whose only goal is to match Obama in obtaining a Nobel at any cost.
1
Trump is like a six year old playing with legos. The Lego structure is the U.S.A. Welcome to doomsday!
1
One can almost hear the collective sigh of relief expressed by millions of Americans as this truly dangerous character leaves the corridors of power.
I write this comment the morning after North Carolina's special congressional elections that saw Trump's Republican candidates defeating their Democrat opponents. The Bolton episode is simply another sideshow of what appears to be a never-ending drama. This is the real worry for America's future: our democracy is failing. We can't count on the electoral process to unseat a horrifically flawed president who's daily actions serve only to undermine our country. If democracy can't save us, then what will?
2
Trump's tweet firing Bolton said he did it because Trump disagreed with Bolton. The subject of Trump's statement was "I" and not "our policy" or "our country." It's always about Trump - and never in the interests of rationale government; Bolton thought it could be also about Bolton's arrogance and disinterest in comity. I'm not a fan of Bolton nor of Trump. I think this may be the only time I'd promote the "both sides" argument.
1
Yeah, the NSC is so intricate and responsible it ginned up the phony WMDs and fake war in Iraq. That monstrous agency is responsible for war, regime change, support of tyrants and mass murder all over the planet, from Latin America to the Middle East.
4
"Mr. Bolton, who replaced General McMaster in April 2018, could have been a good fit for the job under an inexperienced president. Compared with Mr. Flynn and General McMaster, Mr. Bolton is a seasoned Washington player."
How in the world could Bolton have been a "good fit" for ANY administration, given the fact that he has been loathed, for far longer than his tenure under Trump, by so much of Congress? Republican Senator Rand Paul, to use one example, described Bolton in an op-ed as "hell-bent on repeating virtually every foreign policy mistake the US has made in the last 15 years." And that loathing of Bolton extended to countless key players in the foreign policy community. When Bolton was nominated to be UN Ambassador, more than 100 former US envoys signed a letter urging senators to reject the nomination. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-37989338.
Please, Mr. Gans. I know that claiming Bolton might have been a "good fit" helps your narrative. But it just isn't true.
13
Gosh. Whatever happened to Mad Dog Mattis?
@Michael
Mattis is on book tour.
1
While John Bolton may have run amok in the "foreign policy structure" the pre-Bolton structure had a dismal post WW11 record, including disastrous wars which sap our strength and have contributed greatly to the world's immigration crisis and the rise of fascism right wing hate groups
2
@Tom Miller I believe the point is, we might have gotten into more messes without it, and yes, without it, we might get out of Afghanistan, but with a deal that leaves everyone unprotected. What happens when Tucker Carlson decides to go to war?
You elected Trump NYT. Now continue to live with it. No amount of kvetching is gonna change that. Own up and smarten up.
Stop using words like radical to Bernie and Elizebeth and use that word where it belongs...on the Republicans.
6
"I alone can fix it."
Boy has he ever!
2
Now - if I were a North American - I might be a little worried. Trump is no FDR. ("Let Trump be Trump.") Trump is a loser, a bankrupt, a seller of frozen steaks, long neckties, a short lies. His lies only have a shelf-life of 23 hours or less.
Bolton? All of these guys: Pompeo (a religious zealot who was in the army). Mnuchin ( a vulture capitalist and robo-signer who evicted old ladies from their homes). Wilbur Ross (forget about it).
Bolton's foreign policy credentials included getting rid of the UN. He's dangerous. And so is Trump - especially now that his whole house of cards is coming unglued.
Trump is a felon. All that's protecting him is Fox News and a bunch of greedy reptile-brained Republicans. It can't work and it won't last. They're whistling past the graveyard.
Then...something big might happen: a terrorist attack, a war, a pandemic. That's why I would be worried if I was a North American...
8
Wow! That was fast indeed. The word "Bahamas" doesn't appear even once on the digital home page at present. It doesn't take but a couple of days for The NY Times' news to tire of other events and to return to its true obsession: Donald Trump. I urge you, please, to consider reassessing your priorities.
1
Good riddance, Bolton is gone! He was a lying warmonger. I see a lot of comments about how the NSC did not keep us out of a number of wars in the past. The NSC was always an advisory group. They did not formulate policy. If a President and his administration are hell bent on war, it is war we all get. The Iraq debacle is a clear example. The Bush administration was determined to get their war on against Iraq. They kept returning the US intelligence reports until they got a more ambiguous slant and then supported war against Iraq with lies. Until, voila! Iraq was developing WMD and in cahoots with Al Qaeda! The NSC did not make the case for invasion, the warmongers, including Bolton, ignore their advice and got the war they wanted.
Blue Wave 2020 !
4
So the NSC, which protected us from Ho Chi Minh, bin ladin, WMDs, saudi assassins,....., has been replaced by an (adjectives of choice) TV host. What is the third option?
3
...the breaking of the federal government is the most consequential crisis of all.
Ready for drowning in a inch of water at the bottom of a bathtub.
Great system, the National Security Council. Kept us out of Afghanistan. Kept us out of Iraq. Kept us out of Libya, Kept us out of Syria. Kept us out of Yemen. Much better than that crazy warmonger in the White House.
1
@Guy Baehr
I'm spoiled, I guess. I expect a bit of nuance with my foreign policy analysis and morning coffee.
Is this the sort of thinking we can expect (again) from the American electorate?
I have some bad news for people like Guy Baehr and others who think Realpolitick is played like the game of Risk, where there is at least some certainty in the plays one makes.
Realpolitick has the disadvantage of having to deal with reality . . . and with 200-some-odd players, all holding a different deck of cards, with game boards unique to each player, each game board a jigsaw puzzle that requires putting together each day, with pieces that inevitably disappear and get replaced with unfamiliar pieces that don't fit right. It's enough to turn a president's hair grey. Well, not DFT's (not a typo), but otherwise . . . yeah.
The ideals of clarity, certainty, and safety dreamt of in "Kept us out of Iraq. Kept us out of You-Name It" do not ground the "game" of foreign policy, which is no game, of course, but virtually a daily life-and-death puzzle whose pieces will never stop changing, never all be there when you try to assemble the puzzle, and never all fit right.
The projection of American power, in its many forms, requires a delicate balance and real brilliance, which only sometimes happens, partially, and which can never be guaranteed.
If it's safety you want on a post-WWII world, you've come to the wrong world.
Comparing Bolton to FDR? Please.
1
A fanatic seeking to lead a dunce who was also a megalomaniac and a crook.
Who – besides Lindsey Graham, perhaps – could have thought this would end well?
'Seasoned bureaucrat' is an interesting euphemism. 'Administrative thug' might be closer to the truth.
5
Trump, Fox News Personalities, Ivanka, and Hypocritical Evangelical Pastors—this is who is running our country.
2
Tucker a national security advisor, I don't think so. You media guys and gals will do anything and say anything to destroy Trump.
1
@herbie212 Nope, because Trump calls fools like Carlson and Hannity when he wakes up in the morning, before and after tweeting. They are all busy working to destroy democracy as we knew it.
Trump just continues to break down our system of governance by installing sycophants and miscreants to government positions, politicizing government agencies and dismantling the very institutions that prevented the world from nuclear destruction. Woe be the United States and the world if somehow, either through foreign interference or purposeful ignorance, Trump is re-elected.
1
How long will the Republicans continue to support this obvious cartoon? They are destroying their party and themselves. It is an astonishing train wreck to watch. History will have an interesting analysis. It is a tragedy to watch.
This President is a disaster to our entire country, its standing in the world, its foreign policy.
The environment, everything I have worked towards my entire life.
He wants to destroy it all. If Obama did it; he wants it destroyed.
These are the scariest times of my lifetime.
3
A fine end (I hope) to the career of a man who looked as ridiculous as the hawkish nonsense he advocated. I’m sure someone worse will take his place, though. I can’t help but think that Bolton wasn’t obsequious enough for trump’s liking.
1
Folks the real takeaway from this firing is Trump telling us Mike Pence is next. And Nikki Haley is teed up for the Vice President slot when he dumps the weakling. The Dems would be well served to starting working on this scenario.
1
So much breakage! The National Security Council, the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA), farmers, NATO, the budget, Christians, the Republican Party, honesty, decency...
We’re way overdue for a Constitutional Convention. Clearly, our system of government does not have sufficient safeguards to prevent electing a dangerously incompetent chief executive. (Let’s hope those 50 or so 3 and 4 stars who actually run the Defense Department are not overly influenced by this executive’s madness.)
When bad people control government, (surprise) the result is bad government. And in an age with nuclear weapons and climate change, humanity can’t survive this much stupidity.
3
We remember that Trump didn't have the guts to face up to Comey and declare "You're fired!" directly and in person, sending an emissary instead and letting Comey learn about his demise on a remote TV news blast. Trump didn't face Bolton either but fired him with a tweet.
So it will be that Trump declares WWIII. He'll wake up one morning, aroused by something Tucker Carlson has said, and launch the tweet heard round the world. Juggling isn't the operative word to describe Trump's foreign policy. Try floundering or flailing. We get all hot and bothered about Trump having the nuclear codes. He doesn't need them. He has the toxic tweet at his disposal. Its first strike capability is lethal.
Wait for it: This morning I directed "my" generals to bomb, bomb, bomb Iran.
A tweet timed, of course, just enough before November 2020 so as to elicit the anticipated shock and awe in Trump's base.
Think it won't happen? When Trump starts to lose, he'll take you with him. Mutually assured destruction. The endgame of bullies.
2
Cut the nonsense and appoint Ivanka as acting head.
And for doubters, remember Mr. President: Sir you have two secret weapons in Don Jr. And Eric.
I just hope Trump shows everyone who's boss at the end of this season.
As for haters like AOC, I agree: how about they go fix their own country first before they tell us how to fix ours?
@pjc hahahahaha except you forgot the "/s" for sarcasm here.
Absurd premise to this opinion piece.
Bolton occupied a position specifically exempted from Senate confirmation - he almost certainly would have been approved, but not before Dems would have grilled him on his historical record of being a non-stop a borderline foreign policy sociopath for the last almost 20 years. The members of the NSC are mostly experienced professionals. Trump didn’t listen to the NSC before Bolton, he didn’t listen to the NSC while Bolton was there and he won’t listen to the NSC when he names a successor.
1
Trump, not Bolton, should be blamed for the dismantling of the NSC. He never used it anyway, instead preferring his own stable genius-driven gut instincts, as he has often said. Bolton was hired the first time by a mentally incompetent president - Bush - who had to rely on people I believe were pushed on him and who wanted wars. Consider Blackwater, et.al. It seems the GOP, like Trump, likes stupid people to hold positions of power. Trump was the GOP’s next pick for president; an even stupider, more incompetent person is hard to imagine. Again, a mentally weak person picks Bolton to help with foreign affairs. I doubt Trump ever read anything about Bolton before he picked him, probably went with the GOP’s recommendation, as much as Bolton’s FOX news exposure. And it was probably the exposure, not an understanding of what the man was saying that propelled Trump to pick him. This has been a sorry presidency, as Trump ricochets from one bad decision to another, all of them powered by anger and fear. Who will be next to succeed as Foreign Secretary? Possibly Tucker Carlson, since he knows little about anything other than what he is told to know, was mentioned in this piece and has national recognition through his job at FOX. Fame is important in the Trump hemisphere, more so than knowledge or wisdom. There are big decisions to be made that could restructure how we govern ourselves on a fragile planet. As long as Trump plays national joker we can’t get to them.
1
The hitman gets hit. Who cares? trump is sinking the country before he goes down. Next, another rich-kid does bad recession. Will we never learn to NOT let rich folk steer the boat again?
1
After all is said and done it simply comes down to the fact that there is an incompetent individual in the office of the Presidency.
That is it and there is nothing more other than the consequences of having elected such a person.
1
Bolton was/is a dangerous man with outdated ideas. I'd give credit to Trump for not listening to him and then dumping him but Trump hired him in the first place having known his erratic history. Good ridden, John.
1
And the GOP stands quietly by. And the GOP/Trump voters cast ballots based on misinformation and Fox News.
2
Bolton is not missed. It is, however, cold comfort to see him gone. What is worse than him?
The guy who just fired him. He is the one we must fire, since the GOP lacks the courage to challenge him.
1
No tears here for Bolton, a typical aggressive coward, a warhawk who avoided military service himself--he didn't want to die in a Vietnamese rice field, he said, but was fine with his compatriots dying there for him. So, like Trump, he was a draft evader. However, the instability of the National Security Advisor position in the hands of an ignorant and erratic President is deeply frightening. There is no consistent policy. It is depressing to realize that the sycophantic Pompeo, a man without honor or self-respect, is the most stable person in Trump's cabinet.
2
You're simply watching Jerry Springer and the Gong Show rolled into one "big shew". Everyone (except DJT) knew Bolton was a loose cannon, living in a permanent world of "let's play with my Army set!". Trump has the flesh-and-blood troops to answer to, and don't assume he can do anything he wants. What happened to the gov't shutdown? What is his counter-move against the Iranians (answer- it's way too risky and he know it). What about the "immediate" withdrawal from Iraq and Syria? Our European and Asian allies have a lock on his- indeed anyone's- policies. We're involved- deeply and forever. And that's a good thing- no one "really" won either world war- we just did a better job of killing than the enemy. The United Nations can be a big headache,
but it's still the best method to finding solutions without shooting other human beings first. And domestically, "It's the Economy, stupid". Didn't that advice come from the "other" party? Indeed, Trump only has the DJIA roller-coaster to ride on- that's all that's left. I kind of feel a bit sorry for him now that he has to rinse the bitter taste of "Warmonger" out of his mouth. Don't hire an insecure security advisor like Mr. Bolton- it's like going around playing with sticks of TNT.
John Bolton’s resignation(dismissal?)is bringing out stories on how the National Security Council functioned&general work ethic under Bolton.The writer John Gans gives a very un- complimentary picture of the ruination of the NSC.The USA has vast international interests&commitments.Over the years,a massive NSC was built up to provide information,analysis& recommendations.John Gans paint a very dismal picture of how the NSC was reduced to a non- functional body.This is a very poor reflection on Bolton. But what has to be questioned is why other organs of government allowed this deterioration to set in.
In all bureaucracies,there are rivalries. But the head had to control any damage. It is amazing that a man like Bolton worked for years in such councils& yet allegedly did not see them required for the government. There have been historical figures like Henry Kissinger,Colin Powell,who were NSAs.Brent Scowcroft earned a great reputation.To some extent,the person holding the office either enhances or reduces the job.But the Pffice should be strong,in that it should be a place f talent,experience&foresight.The fallout from John Bolton leaving the office of NSA will continue&more information on his functioning will come out.It is a great opportunity to repair the damage done or enhance the office.Time will tell how the media gives out the facts& whether there was a total collapse of the system!
The Country requires a President with all their marbles, not a few. Houston, we have a problem is an understatement.
1
Isn't the breaking of government the purpose of this Administration, and perhaps specifically Donald Trump? It's what he does - break things.
2
This is terrifying.
John Bolton's a liar & a war criminal. Good riddance.
There is no NSC or anything else under Trump. There's only Trump.
The only person with a secure job in the White House is Stephen Miller.
Trump's insane & as long as he remains in office, he'll do whatever he wants, on a whim, based on ignorance, regardless of the consequences. Trump ran his businesses - & marriages - that way. A long string of bankruptcies, lawsuits, scandals and divorces did not chasten Donald Trump. He reportedly lost tens of billions of dollars through bad judgement but what problems has that caused him? In his mind, he's winning.
This country elected an insane, immature, ignorant man with no knowledge of history, government or economics. But V.P. Pence, the G.O.P. & Trump's family are all getting what they want out of this disaster so no one will intervene.
Trump will keep fighting with people, illegally scooping up graft, grabbing Pentagon money for his Wall, lying, golfing, doing no real work & threatening those who displease him.
He'll insist his charm offensive will work on Kim Jong Un - from a family of murderous despots. Trump believes he'll convince Kim to quit starving & torturing his countrymen & build some beach condos.
There's no end to the craziness, delusions or danger.
Trump's Twitter tonight features a photograph of a hand holding up a red placard that reads:
Trump
2024
Keep America Great.
Chilling.
1
The world was pretty dependent on Washington in the 1940s.
Maybe Bolton will now have time to go see an ophthalmologist and get his glasses frames fixed and the lenses adjusted so he isn't constantly fussing with them. An annoying, distracting show of insecurity.
We are pleased to see him being banished.
If you believe authors such as Nicholas Lemann, Dick Cheney "weaponized" the NSS against "enemies" both domestic and foreign- including US liberals. It has remained highly partisan, committed to the ideology of US Exceptionalism, and the doctrine of the "unitary executive"; unlimited executive power. In short it is a central part of the un-elected, unaccountable "Deep State".
It is karmic that this very institutional abuse of power and contempt for Constitutional limits on power lead to their marginalization from the even Farther Right, by someone so sociopathic like Bolton (and Trump) they couldn't even stand the ideological structure imposed by the NSS.
Unfortunately, every bit is a tragedy for the country, and the global order the US authored at the end of WWII, US soft power, and world leadership.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/vice-vs-the-real-dick-cheney
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jun/19/us-russia-saudi-arabia-israel-iran-forces-for-bad-poll-finds
1
Good god. Our national security policy is being set by Tucker Carlson and Donald Trump?
A country that has thousands of nuclear weapons?
Let that sink in. Four Senate Republicans with a thimbleful of courage could stop all this insanity immediately.
1
The Mad Max films should be part of every high school curriculum to train the kids for what's coming. Soylent Green, too.
1
So, Mr. Bolton, the uber-chicken hawk who always had a war plan ready for others to risk their lives, is shown the exit.
I'll take my small comforts wherever I can find them during the Trump circus act.
1
Wow. This is great. I’m glad Bolton did this.
I love that he was a “hardliner” on evil regimes....as if this is supposed to be a bad thing.
1
Bolton and Trump both demonstrated why the National Security Adviser should require senate confirmation. That would give the NSA political leverage and more authority — and accountability — for running the NSC.
1
"Roosevelt, who called himself a “juggler” who was “perfectly willing to mislead and tell untruths it if helps win the war,” liked to keep his options open and just about everyone else — military leaders, diplomats, Congress, even Vice President Harry Truman — in the dark."
This may be historical nit-picking, but shouldn't that read "Vice Presidents Henry Wallace and Harry Truman"? Truman only served a few months as VP, Wallace served for over 3 years of the course of WWII.
Bolton was a diplomats worst nightmare -- hardheaded, cocksure, not a team player. Thank goodness he's history. But the next may be worse. Another trump synophant.
1
A wave of fear just rolled over me when I read that Tucker Carlson is the de facto national security advisor. I know Trump is insane. Is the entire GOP too?
1
I'll miss Bolton. At least, he argued with Trump and babysat him a bit to keep him on at least one rail. Now, all the rails are gone. We no longer have Old JB to blame when Trump starts playing with the Football.
Bolton spent his life as a Staff man. But, he insisted on cultivating a distinctive image. The two don't go together.
Bolton spent his life as a Staff man. But, he insisted on cultivating a distinctive image. The two don't go together.
Kamala Harris has it right. She says
"Dude's gotta go!"
1
This essay is long on hyperbole and short on facts. The NSC has ossified into a nice sinecure for those defense and intelligence officials who have "arrived", a place where creativity, actionable ideas, and unconventional neckties are quickly shown the gallows. The NSC needed Bolton. Now that he's out, the NSC can safely retreat into providing the opinion puree that pushes presidents toward policies so predictable that even the most lead-footed adversary can stay two steps ahead of America.
You won't see this kind of analysis from Fox News- their goals are to feed their viewers and readers lies to bolster ratings. They pray upon weak minds and those who lack discernment. But the analysis is accurate- and adds to what is a collapsing national security infrastructure- something that Putin, foolish Americans and a deluded, corrupt President could care less about.
1
"Mr. Trump split with Mr. Bolton and began consulting with outsiders like the Fox News personality Tucker Carlson"...
Good to know the president had an expert talk show host to discuss foreign policy with like Tucker Carlson, otherwise I'd be skeptical. He's hired everyone he could from Fox except Homer Simpson.
Who wouldn't feel more confident with these expert military opinions coming from a neocon (Bolton) and an outright racist, (Carlson) who along with Ingraham and O Riley lost/lose sponsors on a daily basis for espousing their views.
1
“At a moment of division at home and disarray abroad, the breaking of the federal government is the most consequential crisis of all.”
Billionaires have sold enough little people on the notion that the government is their real problem to bring this soulless mob of money-grabbers to power. With institutional protections being disregarded or dismantled day by day, by the time we discover what life is like without them, like climate change, it may be too late.
I believe I've heard that the House has the power to lock up officials for failure to comply with subpoenas.......?
So, if there is any truth to that, I think it's time to put Trump under House Arrest along with Barr. In addition, Pence should be included, also, because he was complicit in the Trump deal to enrich his resort in Scotland by sending the Air Force to his properties. Enough of all this.
18
Consider that the last war we won was with FDR’s method. Also consider that JFK got us into the Vietnam mess because he used his own advisors and not the NSC. If I were Trump I would convert some of that Executive Time into running the NSC, at least from 3 to 6 in the morning.
"Mr. Bolton’s most lasting legacy will be dismantling the structure that has kept American foreign policy from collapsing into chaos, and finally unshackling an irregular commander-in-chief."
Our foreign policy has NOT collapsed into chaos? We've begun wars based on lies, violating international law in the process. Our intelligence agencies have engaged in the import of illegal drugs into the US. We have overthrown democratically elected governments and assassinated countless people.......
Are things really so much worse? Seriously... Bolton and others have been doing this for decades.
2
"Presidential juggling is back, and one does not need to compare Mr. Trump to Roosevelt in order to worry." Trump is no Roosevelt, in any sense. But he does have a talent for picking aggressive men who are only too aware that their unappealing personality would prevent a Presidency of their own, while retaining the delusional hope of total dictatorship over their department. In this case, Pompeo is possibly the more grandiose, and therefore better at the game than Bolton. I can see him surviving to the bitter end. S. Miller, Navarro, Mulvaney, might also survive. (The reality show administration in action.) But I hope they all go down in flames before the country does.
2
Bolton and Trump are the product of Republican engineering and extremist opportunists like Carlson.
Today is the 18th anniversary of 911. W dropped the ball and used the pretense to the score for daddy - he might have believed in Cheney but his reliance on the latter in the early years of his tenure was entirely his choice! - when senior Bush and Clinton had the foresight to let it slide.
The neocons wanted the wars and the tea partiers and their predecessors wanted money. They got them both, in spite of the peace dividend America had enjoyed under Clinton because of the cultural reactionaries.
Bolton didn't come from a vacuum or got a 2nd life under trump. His coming and going belong to a greater mosaic of how the Republicans and their enablers have wrecked this country. People should remember that
5
Considering that the US refuses to join the International Criminal Court based on John Bolton's claim that "aggression" (as in "war of aggression") lacks definition and requires countless exception rules, where does it come off calling Russia "aggressive"? By what authority? Certainly not by the authority of international law--and certainly NOT by the Charter of the UN, which it wrote itself!
2
A democratic society can delegate authority but it can't delegate responsibility for that rests entirely on us.
Trump, Bolton, and Roosevelt are and were each authorized by the country both legally and through public opinion. A democracy cannot function without the involvement of each individual conscience to recognize that we, not they, are responsible for Trump, Bolton, and Roosevelt. We can't do anything about the past but lie to ourselves about it, but we can and must accept responsibility for what happens next. A totalitarian society devalues the individual conscience and we are on a very slippery slope toward that kind of society, especially since Fox News has replaced us as humans.
2
Whatever bad decisions Mr. Bolton bears a significant part of the responsibility for - and they are many - he does not bear such responsibility for the decision to put Mr. Trump in charge of American foreign affairs and wars. That's on the party which welcomed Mr. Trump and the people who voted for him.
3
When the news broke about the firing of John Bolton as national security adviser, most Americans and most of the leaders of America’s allies probably breathed a sigh of relief that finally Donald Trump had made a correct decision in foreign affairs.
Now we find out that Bolton had steadily dismantled the National Security Council system and that Trump, an ignorant, totally inexperienced and impulsive man, is left to rely upon a few unqualified White House aides, who are sophomoric ideologues, and upon the advice of Fox News personalities.
We don’t have to ask ourselves, “What more could possibly go wrong?” We already know the answer: one or more completely unnecessary wars will be started by our president with a terrible loss of lives.
Unless the Senate and the House in some bipartisan way step up to control an out-of-control president, and unless the leaders of the U.S. military and intelligence communities show wisdom and greater courage, America and the rest of the planet are at high risk.
7
No, I don't think so.
Bolton didn't break the interagency system.
Trump appears ready to break any system or any institution or individual that constrains him from running anything "by the seat of his pants."
And Trump is a far cry from Roosevelt; contrasts are much greater than comparisons.
For the good of the US and the world, systems that need to be put in place curtailing executive authority following Trump's term in office are extensive and profound.
3
Ridding the White House of Mr. Bolton's presence is a perfectly good idea. He never should have been an advisor for any position in government after he lead us into the Iraq war. I fear that this President will only appoint some one even less appropriate than Bolton to "lead" his national security team; another temp. to fill the position. Mr. Trump's administration, lacking all direction on the international relations front, is spinning out of control lead by pious Mr. Pompeo and V.P. Pence who allow Israel to direct our Mideast policy, and Trump to do the rest. If this doesn't get us into a war, nothing will.
6
Oh, I wonder if Tucker Carlson is free to be National Security Advisor?
9
"Today, Washington is more dependent on the presidency, and the world is more dependent on Washington’s decisions, than it was in the 1930s and ’40s."
And where did this dependency come from? The doctrine of executive privilege during the Nixon era. And who were the architects of executive privilege? Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld. And who ramped it up to the current levels? First George Bush and then Barack Obama. And who could have reduced it down to a sensible JFK/Johnson level but didn''t? Barack Obama.
I am not being hyperbolic when I blame Obama for Trump's ability to exploit executive privilege.
5
"and the world is more dependent on Washington’s decisions, than it was in the 1930s and ’40s." Perhaps, but if it has learned anything in the last dozen years it is to move away from the US and rely on other sources for intelligent decisions. The difficulty is that reliance has become a habit that needs to be broken which can be disruptive.With or without the NSC system US policy has been an unmitigated disaster since 9/11 and probably much before.
6
Mr Bolton as before him Bannon, have been pushing the entire U.S. and his President in a position that at worldwide level has failed, a kind of alter-right (formerlythe neo-con), the kinds of Matteo Salvini in Europe or Orbán in Hungary. They may agitate crowds but in face to real problems, their propositions looks rather unrealistic or unattainable. If the G7 serve as a preconditioned mis-en-scène, we can conclude that in the international arena, Mr Trump will be approached politely and he will be positioned to look as primary decision maker while being put sitting aside in a secondary place, or absent at all. The world knows already enough and everybody is waiting for a real U.S. President coming as soon as possible.
5
Greater safety in the US will be ensured with the departure of Mr. Bolton. John Foster Dulles used to describe such a person as "the greatest unguided missile in history". The departure of his boss will help even more.
7
Mr. Gans is a recognized scholar with respect to the National Security Council, but I don't he's got this right.
The perfect National Security advisor, by all accounts, was Brent Scowcroft, who made sure George H.W. Bush knew all relevant points of view, respected the equities, not only of DOD but State, Treasury and, where relevant, the CIA. Hagiography aside, I guess Scowcroft gave the first Bush his personal take but not like others, e.g., Kissinger, Brezinski, Poindexter, and, per several books, Obama's first National Security Council staff, by undercutting prominent administration figures they disagreed with, like Jim Schlesinger, Cy Vance, George Shultz and Richard Holbrooke (backed by Hillary Clinton).
Recall that Shultz was almost alone in supporting Reagan's policy of taking Gorbachev seriously. The NSC staff, Bill Casey and Casper Weinberger wrongly thought Gorbachev was playing games.
The big surprise is that Bolton, in position to destroy rivals, was so unskllled that he got outmaneuvered by a Secretary of State. Mike Pompeo. At any rate, this near perfect system, as the author describes it, never really existed, except for one brief (4 yr) moment under Scowcroft. I am not inclined to mourn the loss of a myth.
Nor do I agree with comparing FDR, a hugely successful wartime President with Trump, a creature of ego and whim, especially in foreign affairs. The world was full of dangers with Bolton; without him it still is.
17
Speaking of Gen. Flynn, don't be too surprised if that entire case is tossed due to rule-breaking by the prosecution, including not releasing important info to Flynn's defense.
2
I'm not suggesting the present chaos is an improvement, but the National Security Council didn't keep America out of Vietnam, Afghanistan or Iraq.
16
We’re getting closer to 2 football teams, that is the number of Trump cabinet members who have resigned, fired, or sent to jail. This would be funny, if not sad. Who is running this country now?
11
Who? - Fox’ Carlson and Hannity.
1
@BB
Tucker Carlson?
Hannity?
Stephen Miller?
1
"Presidential juggling is back, and one does not need to compare Mr. Trump to Roosevelt in order to worry. "
Too right. And so I can only hope that in the election contest now getting started the Democrats will understand the need to "go for the juggler."
7
Wow! For a minute there I was worried about the way Trump is handling things. But when I got to the part about how he is consulting with Tucker Carlson I breathed a sigh of relief. I’ll sleep well tonight knowing the nation is in good hands!
16
I've never been a fan of Bolton, but he is what he is. You can only blame the dysfunction of the NSC on Trump. Our whole government is dysfunctional, why would the NSC be any different. Everyone, with the apparent exception of Trump knew Bolton's history, but Trump picked him anyway. There is no depth to Trump's thinking and the same goes for Trump's followers. We are in a deep, dark era and I'm not so sure the Democrats have it together enough to beat him in 2020 unless they get it together very soon.
22
One thing for the DEMS to do would be to put strong running teams (P/VP) together already for the primaries. I think this could clarify the picture for many and address worries about age or other such doubts. Say Bernie/Tulsi, Biden/Warren, Harris/Pete (just for example).
3
I don't know if comparing Trump's handling of foreign policy to that of Roosevelt during the WW2 is the best argument against it really. It kinda worked out OK for the US then. And the vaunted National Security Council of the past three decades did nothing to spare US the mistakes, costs and embarrassment of all those unnecessary wars often fought under false pretences. Say what you want about Trump and his 'erratic' foreign policy, at the very least he saved American people from fighting Syria, Iran and quite possibly North Korea too. One wonders if Hillary Clinton with all her foreign policy mettle and with the esteemed NSC experts at her side would not be fighting all those new wars now. So it is hard to begrudge Trump's foreign policy outcomes knowing the potential alternatives that he did manage to avoid.
7
Well - some historians have made the case that a more forceful stand against the Nazi regime by the US, earlier US solidarity with France, Poland, England, could have stopped the Nazi rise before it got too powerful and minimized the destructive wars and progroms started by Nazi Germany - but national interests prevented that.
@David
Stayed tuned. Trump is off the rails now.
1
"Mr. Bolton effectively destroyed the National Security Council system, the intricate structure that governed American foreign policy since the end of World War II. "
And that is what you want to base your argument on, that our foreign police of the last 70 years is a foundation that has served us well?
I do not take issue that with the claim that Bolton and the Great Prevaricator are loose cannons and about as intelligent as cannon shot, but, let's not celebrate or seek to make whole the system which has brought us, toppling mosaddegh, invading cuba, vietnam, central america, supporting saudi arabia, supporting saddam hussein to neutralize iran which we destabilized in the first place, desert storm one, two and afghanistan and i've left out three times as many more intelligent decisions.
18
it's almost as if trump is following a script written by a power directly opposed to the interests of the us, and following it very carefully.
28
@No name
Well, Trump could be labeled as oppositional-defiant...
1
Same NSC that Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon relied on to guide the Vietnam war? And, that bet our countries reputation on the Shaw of Iran? That dropped the ball in addressing the terrorist threat during the transition from the Clinton to bush administration, then allowed Colin Powell to use faked data to justify the Iraq invasion, to his everlasting shame?
While I understand mr. Gans’ position, not really shedding a tear over a deeply flawed organization that has repeatedly misled the administration and the US public while serving internal factions and special interests.
18
We need an act of political courage by someone willing to put country before party. I will now read you my list of possibilities:
8
Bolton let his over-confidence take the lead, and now national and even global security is at risk. January of 2021,cannot come soon enough.
3
Bolton is no great loss, but at least Mr. Trump has tried to address our foreign policy issues, unlike the last guy (Obama) that never even had a foreign policy, being so busy laying new government regulations on us all, I suppose. Remember the pivot to Asia? Or the Iranian deal to allow them nukes after Obama was out of office? Or, how about the Late Great Arab Spring? Oh, and that line in the sand re chemical weapons in Syria? Or, getting us out of Afghanistan and Iraq? And I would propose that Mr. Carlson would know more about foreign policy, than say, Hillary Clinton, that was solely focused on making money and padding her resume.
4
And let’s not forget those pesky Russians. They’re cyberbombing us - that presents a far greater existential threat to our democracy than any of those situations. But he lets the bombing go on. Fabulous foreign policy.
1
DJOHN,
"Bolton is no great loss, but at least Mr. Trump has tried to address our foreign policy issues, unlike the last guy (Obama) that never even had a foreign policy, being so busy laying new government regulations on us all, I suppose."
You have forgotten the Bush recession and the banking and finance compaines that needed to be saved. That was just one of the great things Obama accomplished.
" Remember the pivot to Asia?" You must be referring to the TPP agreement that would have setup a united front against China, by Obama, which Trump the moron cancelled and instigated a painful trade war through tariffs that he erroneously claims are being paid by China. "Or the Iranian deal to allow them nukes after Obama was out of office?" You mean the deal that kept the Iranians from building nukes, which they are now ramping up to now, given that Donald J. Chaos canceled it. "Or, how about the Late Great Arab Spring?" Obama helped get Mubarak to resign. It is not his fault Egyptians voted in a Muslim brotherhood member who made drastic changes and lost the support of his own people. "Or, getting us out of Afghanistan and Iraq?" Afghanistan is a nation with a warrior culture and two muslim sects, Shiite and Sunni who never get along. We needed to go in and clear out the murderous Al Qaeda. Obama led the successful hunt for Osama Bin Laden. As for Iraq, we can thank the Bush II administration for that stupid blunder through their spin of weak intelligence and outright lies.
1
@DJOHN
Well, at least they didn't pander to dictators. I got creepy all over when Trump announced that he fell in love with Kim, didn't you? YUCK!
1
My sister and I (both women of a certain age) were speaking about how the details of our lives are getting away from us. Too long between doctor’s visits, clothing not picked up from the cleaners, forgetting our vitamins, not returning books to the library - little chores of life that are falling through the cracks. We decided it’s NOT our age. We were fine three years ago. Since Trump has been President, we walk around in a fog of rage and sadness. Each day brings trauma, upset, and disbelief.
Four more years is unthinkable. One more seems ever so daunting. He has destroyed so much - more I think than most of us realize. He has trashed our country. He has negatively affected our quality of life. It’s scary to get up in the morning, knowing a new low will be set.
Vote in 2020 like your life depends on it. It really does.
79
I and almost every woman I know has lived with pain and depression since November 2016. Ask any therapist!
9
Heartfelt thanks to you and your sister. Should you have grandchildren make them vote. If they should study in Red States have them declare residence there and have them vote.
We need a massive surge in voting b the 18-35 y.o. set. Massively underrepresented at the polls, to disillusioned by the system to care.
5
@Kathryn
You got that right!
3
Thanks Mr. Gans. You reminded me why Trump was elected, to clear the swamp, i.e. rid the nation of all those elite intellectuals who thought they knew something about the world and foreign policy. No different than scientists and climate change, the environment, economic experts and taxes, trade, tariffs and unilateralism, those lefty's who prefer to let in those horrendous people coming across the borders and immigration, and so on. And only one man sees the light and can do anything about it... So why the horror? We must be in good hands. Isn't that why he was elected?
3
@David Greenspan
I thought that the "J" in DJ Trump was for John, but maybe it's for Jesus.
4
He had all the “Don’s Johns” signs covered up on the outhouses during his inauguration. Couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Weak man.
Well, I'd have to read any of Mr. Gans details to get a comprehensive picture of how Trump and Roosevelt can be compared. Although I agree that a working Council is essential, perhaps it could be observed that Mr. Roosevelt -- not ever at all in personality like Trump -- managed to do fairly well, considering the outcome of WWII. Bolton has become yet another one of those people who have been apparently totally ignorant of the essential factor of Trump's personality features, and like all the other moths to that flame, has been burned by allowing himself to being drawn so close to Trump. Trump shows ample behavioral features of a serious, dangerous personality disorder, the primary feature being near total self-absorption and promotion. That promotion "trumps" all other considerations, even regarding his closest associates, the nation, Constitutionally, and the world. His mentality is totally unsuited for a world leader--more suited to a patient who needs behaviorally quarantined for protection from harm. It makes me wonder how much more evidence must actually be endured before the force of the rule of law is applied at least to make a determined effort to remove him. (At least Pence appears not having the same personality features.) Then we must vote all of the Republican enablers out.
15
The United States has never been more vulnerable to foreign manipulation and intervention. The U.S. “national interest” has been replaced by the president’s interest. Trump is only interested in being re-elected and making money for his family. He also wants to stay out of jail. He will only deal with those who he thinks that can help him reach these objectives. We are in deep trouble.
45
Why is it that Republicans think they have any business in our democratic government at this point? Mostly they break things: the economy, the social safety net; our fiscal solvency; and now our national security. Then Democrats have to come in and put the mess back together again.
Honestly, it reminds me of my relationship with my three year old daughter at times, but without all the dysfunction, and of course excepting the distinction that she is wonderful and adorable and innocent when she is making a mess.
47
If only she were president!
2
Why does Trump need a council for anything when he is such a “very stable genius”? And when he wants someone to tell him what a very stable genius he is, that’s where the sycophantic Kushner, Mulvaney, Navarro, Kudlow, Pompeo, Miller, Ross and Mnuchin come in! Perhaps the least impressive set of presidential advisors since at least the Hoover presidency, they are all too happy to tell King Donnie how brilliant he is.
The Emperor has no clothes and no one left to tell him he’s buck naked.
39
Elect a clown, expect a circus.
65
Is Ms. Pelosi finally ready to impeach?
22
Only in the era of "hate everything Trump does because hes Trump", could the departure of John Bolton be considered anything other than the best thing to happen to Washington! Bolton is the greatest warmonger and I say good riddence. That is saying something because I am far from a hawk!
Considering he is also one of the greatest neocons to walk the halls of Washington, I find it safe to say that the reason the President even took him on was pressure from the party rather than any personal preference. Considering Boltons latest move to stir the pot with a "visit" to Belarus, antagonizing the Russians even further than what the Democrats have done I hope we never hear from this man again in my (or hopefully his short) lifetime!
The most likely scenario here was that Bolton was pushing hard for war, ANY war and Trump finally had enough. Kudos to this President for standing up to him and in turn standing up to the party apparatus! As far as Im concerned this is a moment no matter your feelings on Trump to applaud him and his judgement!
6
@Todd Simpson And what do you think about his ability to pick national security advisers? Do you have confidence he will get it right this time?
10
@Todd Simpson
You don't for a minute think that it was Trump's idea to take on Bolton, do you? More likely someone like McConnell.
1
@Todd Simpson So who chose Bolton in the first place? He certainly was a known quantity.
I don’t care if it breaks with tradition or manners or patriotism. Why don’t Bush, Obama, Carter, and Clinton get together and make some kind of protest about trump’s lunatic behavior and policies?
Our country’s future and the world is at stake. Maybe it wouldn’t have an effect but maybe it could. How can they sit back? At least I hope they won’t when the election gets closer.
29
I’ve considered this myself on numerous occasions- the only answer I can see is that they are aware it’s a card that can only be played once and is being saved for a issue of momentous importance to the survival of your democracy. A direct threat to the peaceful transfer of power, a direct and lethal threat to the rule of law, attempts to cancel/long term delay of elections or suspension of the constitution, for example.
I must admit even though such conclusions were my own, I found it rather terrifying that they seem to appreciate just how bad things could get over the course of the administration that for the past presidents the daily erratic chaos leaking from the WH around the globe do not represent as bad as it may yet get
8
@Nancy
I've thought about this for several years. The idea that George Bush, Clinton, Carter and Obama should go together in a group to the White House, meet privately with Trump and tell him he must resign for the good of the country. Trump won't do it. But they could leave the White House and hold a news conference and speak cogently about why they took this step and why they believe Trump must resign from office.
At the very least, it might rattle Mike Pence and some of the G.O.P. Senate who won't consider impeachment or the 25th Amendment.
3
@Nancy
Bush has ZERO credibility to help fix anything. ...And since the others are all democrats, no chance of the Senate being swayed by anything they have to say.
...But you're right. We need a savior.
2
"Bolton could have been a good fit for an inexperienced president." Where in this Fantasyland do you live?
35
Not to rain on the parade, but while we're all enjoying feeling sorry for ourselves over what a bad President Donald Trump is, we ought to spare a thought for what the Bush-Cheney administration had done to Iraq by this time in its first (!!) term. For which reason, Mr. Bolton needs to be careful about traveling to jurisdictions outside the United States.
(Or, spare a thought for the McKinley administration in the Philippines. Or, etc.)
14
@Joe Ryan
Cheney, whose crotchety old man anger was not unlike Bolton's, was the "president" behind President Bush. In my imagination I could see Cheney screaming at underlings for "proof" that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction and G-ddamnit, they'd better find it or he'd grind their behinds.
1
Bolton was a convenient scapegoat for Trump's recent foreign policy mistakes especially his unthinking "secret" invitation to the Taliban to come to Camp David for a meeting so close to Sept. 11. His failure to get results from his "love" of Kim Jong Un and the other policy failures are easily blamed on Bolton too so Trump starts the campaign season of 2019 with a clean foreign policy slate---not that his base cares or understands.
Trump has no understanding of the importance the date Sept. 11 has to voters in the USA. Once he released the results of his "secret" Camp David meeting with the very people most voters hold accountable for the deaths of nearly 3000 people on that date, the criticism from Democrats and Independents would have been overwhelming. Republicans as usual would have supported Trump even through this outrage; they are numb to any consequence of an action he takes.
In reducing the NSC to Bolton and Trump (and one or two servers), the two of them forgot that they excluded people who would have reminded them that Sept. 11 has meaning to most voters and elected officials. Unfortunately a man needed to die to stop the Camp David meeting from taking place or perhaps his death too was a convenient event for a president who has shown no empathy for the sorrow of family members of dead or injured military personnel.
Trump will need to replace Bolton; he will need another scapegoat This time he may choose two or more to keep up with important dates.
10
You blame Bolton for what had to happen. No organization can exist under trump. He doesn't allow it.
12
Yet it is that "unshackled irregular commander-in-chief" that is responsible for his actions, not John Bolton.
5
John Bolton is one of those fools who says, “I alone can fix this.”
6
@Tom W
Yeah. Can't have two of those in the same room. Logistics, logistics.
1
When a old no good political dog who only knows destruction via tin-eared diplomacy, can no longer see eye-to-eye with Trump, that's just confirmation that Trump is truly off the rails.
10
There is no comparison w/FDR and his team then and the situation now. We were fortunate then; we are unfortunate now.
14
One can believe many things simultaneously. First, the President is a threat to American democracy and world peace. Second, John Bolton was an even greater threat to American democracy and world peace. And the third, the existing NSC structure which gave us Vietnam, Grenada, Panama, and endless war in Afghanistan is a threat to American democracy and world peace.
7
Bolton was just a hammer. Trump swung him.
6
Very terse, colorful statement, but what, in the world does it mean?
4
Everyone in the administration is a tool
1
Should Mr. Trump be as savvy about everything like he says, and should 'everything' include the most complicated nut to crack, where foreign & domestic interests intersect, then why aren't we winning more, while he's whining?
Shouldn't the merits of being the greatest-ever President's achievements simply be beyond doubt? Yet, he's still running against Obama, who is not even in the running. Yes, I know, Obama was too much like every other President, doing much as others had, with the one exception being healthcare, of course. Yet, Mr.Trump spends an unearthly amount of time reversing even minuscule accomplishments.
It's only my opinion, but I think, We The People, would love a uniting President, would love us to exalt our virtues, and stand on the foundations of western law, seeing the American spirit we love shine from sea to sea with the brilliance of progressive conservative. I believe the American people believe we have have been fixated on the dark side of finding a scapegoat. That's just not been the American Spirit we aspire to. If Miss Liberty's torch isn't shining, we wonder why the fire has gone out of us.
It's time for action: Vote in 2020.
6
People were saying this in 2016, not to mention 2004. Not gonna happen. I see a Trump victory in 2020, followed by resignation sometime thereafter, sort of like Nixon in 1972/1974. Since when has the USA ever been unified?
When, please when, can we get back to a "real" democracy and dump the trump along with all of his minions and velcro. They have destroyed the government, as bad as it was, worked.
13
If you think any of this is scary, consider, 38% of American voters still suupport this president.
28
Regardless of whether one liked or disliked John Bolton, his brutal dismissal via tweet by an erratic president points to an increasingly unstable man in the White House.
I'm breathlessly waiting for the Bolton tell-all book and wondering whether Fox will sign him back up again.
12
This is too funny for words. Or maybe it’s just all too much and I’ve ceased to care.
2
Maybe Michael Flynn is available (again)?
5
Good Lord! The thought that President Trump molts the skin of John Bolton and replaces it with the epidermis of Tucker Carlson should terrify us all. Is the president therefore a terrorist? Will he start wearing a bow tie?
2
Bolton's not ruined. Bolton ruined the rest of us.
3
Gans is critical of Franklin Roosevelt’s ‘juggling’ in WWII without the benefit of advice from a National Security Adviser, but when one compares the results of FDR’s efforts sans such adviser with the results to our nation of the advice of McGeorge Bundy to Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, and that of Condoleezza Rice to George W. Bush, one wonders if the respective debacles of Vietnam and the invasion of Iraq, with resultant continuing carnage in the Middle East, justify such enthrallment with and confidence in such a position.
8
Does anyone else see martial law being imposed within the next 16~18 months?
2
How long before Tucker Carlson (National Security) and Sean Hannity (Domestic Affairs) are at each other's throats?
8
@Art ha
1
@Art
It can't be too soon.
1
Lol
1
Na na na na. Na na na na. Hey hey, goood bye.
Who's next? Pence?
5
And in any case, Trump can't actually fire him anyway, at least not according to that little thing called the Constitution. Not that that would prevent him trying, of course.
3
Pence, being one of the few individuals who are even less intelligent than Trump, has safe tenure.
2
Does Tucker Carlson have a security clearance?
5
Tuckert Carlson?!!!!
G-d help us
7
Always reassuring to know that in punting the ideas of a bad advisor, Trump turns to his trusted source, Tucker Carlson. It's just that much better.
Punt Ben Carson at HUD and hire the Property Brothers. Put the Rock in for Pompeo. Elmo is a good fit for Education - he doesn't have a college degree, and as a toddler, can set up play dates at 1600 Penna Ave.
Bolton broke the NSC, but it was just another slow death in a long list of federal obituaries. I'd argue that most of them are dangerous losses.
2
Don’t forget Jeanine Pirro. Gender equity and all....
1
The NSC was also ignored by Johnson in Vietnam, who relied more on the National Security Adviser.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_United_States_National_Security_Council_1963%E2%80%9369
2
Before John Bolton escapes to Brazil. Russia or Hungary arrest him and charge him with Participation in a common plan or conspiracy for the accomplishment of a crime against peace, Planning, initiating and waging wars of aggression and other crimes against peace, War crimes and Crimes against humanity.
The court room in Nuremberg is now a museum, but I am sure it could be reactivated.
13
What a disgrace has befallen on these United States...by electing a malevolous 'brutus ignoramus' that, not knowing anything thinks he knows everything, and certainly more than 'the generals', a very dangerous enterprise with no long-term plans, and where no one knows head from tail when this vulgar bully tweets an order.
6
John Bolton is a right wing chicken hawk. Maybe he broke the NSA, but under Trump, it would have been broken anyway.
This is yet an other anecdote about Trump's unfitness for the Office he holds. He is ignorant, doesn't read anything that doesn't have his picture on every page. Has no patience with nuance, subtilities that abound on the world stage. Doesn't like the "elites", who we call experts, giving him advice that he doesn't understand or care to try to understand. Basically, he has no use for experts.He trusts his gut!!!!
So Bolton will be replaced with an other sycophant who will praise the Master, no matter what the issue, no matter what the danger of Trump's gut feelings.
Bolton was unqualified. but he had a way hawkish and stupid of way of thinking. But he wasn't let go or fired because of whatever he thought, but because he contradicted the flawed and sick man sitting behind the resolute desk. Trump is his own adviser. Reriod. No contrarian need apply. The times, they are changing, but getting more and more dangerous sa time goes by...
11
This column reads like a eulogy for an organ of the Deep State.
Another Trump flunky bites the dust. The list gets longer every month. Bolton should never work in public service again.
5
I have nothing good to say about Bolton, ever. But I think that this article is unfair to him. Trump broke the National Security Council, and Bolton was just a minor tool used in the process. Had Bolton tried to maintain the structure of the NSC, Trump would not have tolerated it and Bolton would never have lasted 17 months - which is a long time for a Trump appointee in a foreign policy related position.
1
Once the system put an inexperienced conman into the WH it proved the system has broken. Since then the massive turnovers of senior Administration staff are mere manifestations of a broken government, chaotically run by Trump. Keep counting: Trump will continue to have more senior staff turnovers. He is unstable. Therefore the government is unstable.
9
John Bolton is a war criminal. International law makes clear that instigating and waging a war of aggression is a crime against humanity.
The only thing that kept him out of the dock is the fact that he acted on behalf of the US, the prevailing party in its several Mid-East wars.
But make no mistake, the Iraqi war was a war of aggression, based on lies and manipulations and was extended to Somalia, Syria, Libya and Yemen.
The casualties from these wars is estimated between 1,000,000 and 1,800,000 people. Over 5 million have been displaced.
Now that Bolton is a 'civilian' he should be indicted by the ICJ.
9
Bolton is a hawk of frightening audacity. Good riddance.
So now we only need be frightened by the fact that Trump has been "consulting with outsiders like the Fox News personality Tucker Carlson."
So, will it be another one year or five years of sleepless nights worrying about what foreign policy havoc this President might wreak?
5
No way to distinguish the good guys from the bad guys in this Trump mis-administration. (Few if any women.) All bad guys.
5
Perhaps now, Yosemite Sam can go back to making cartoons ,where he belongs.
3
I doubt very much if the world is more dependent on the decisions of an American president than it was in the 30s and 40s.
Hitler, Stalin and Roosevelt alone controlled the fate of the world in those days.
Today absent a Russian invasion Western Europe can stand alone. The Middle East is less important and people there are determined to continue to fight to the death over some dusty landscape. Africa and most of South America are in shambles; India and China are built on foundation of sand.
The world is not the same as it was then and our interventions it since 1945 excepting the Marshall Plan have not benefited us or the world.
We will survive this four year interlude of being ruled by a Mad King and so will the world.
There is huge risk when important foreign policies are decided only by one leader of the country. Especially President Trump had not participated in foreign or security matters before he became the president. Many people think he lacks experiences. It is important for White House to have another National Security Council which will prevents his despotism and tragedies for the world.
"Eventually, Mr. Trump split with Mr. Bolton and began consulting with outsiders like the Fox News personality Tucker Carlson."
Even in the era of Trump, I don't think I've ever had quite so visceral a reaction to anything.
616
@Pat B
Remarkable. And remarkably unsophisticated and unaware. Donald Trump is a legend in his own mind
26
@Pat B
Yup! I nearly spewed coffee all over my computer.
12
If it is true that Tucker Carlson saved us from starting a war with Iran then may be he is a better for the National Security Advisor position?
3
Tucker Carlson became the de facto National Security Advisor?
Trump broke the National Security Council--not Bolton. Remember when Steve Bannon was on it?
I am no John Bolton fan, but the Council, and virtually every other responsible arm of government that has to deal with Trump, is being denigrated by Trump since he took office. Trump is an unhinged malignant narcissist who operates from the deep-seated conviction that there is no "truth" beyond his entitlement to get everything he wants all of the time.
Trump broke the National Security Council. Trump is trying to break the weather forecast for goodness sakes! His own lawyer told us, "the truth is not the truth." During a hurricane, Trump is golfing, fighting with a T.V. actress, and gas lighting everyone who knows where Alabama is.
No National Security Advisor could protect the National Security Council against the prologue and epilogue of incompetence and narcissism that Donald Trump imposes on the executive branch.
814
@Ann "Trump is an unhinged malignant narcissist who operates from the deep-seated conviction that there is no "truth" beyond his entitlement to get everything he wants all of the time."
That is truth in poetry. Horribly true.
92
@Ann -- "During a hurricane, Trump is golfing, fighting with a T.V. actress, and gas lighting everyone who knows where Alabama is. "
Priceless.
20
This is no government. This is obviously a mob boss's move; it is an intended national destruction of the USA. They can't give away the public trust to their cronies fast enough, nor can they make their sickening deals with despots fast enough (at bankrupting costs born by US taxpayers' and the lives of US soldiers).
Bolton was just another snake in the pit. There are nothing but snakes down there.
470
@WR But the base loves him. Just this morning the Times reports on a sensible sounding Republican woman who voted in the North Carolina election for a Republican because the economy is doing well. When will they wake up? I suppose when the house starts falling down around them. It is already on fire.
30
Bolton is no loss. But that's not the story. We'll be keeping our eyes on the paranoid impulsive bully now calling the shots, the stable genius making all the decisions on his own. God help us all.
353
"in just 17 months Mr. Bolton effectively destroyed the National Security Council system, the intricate structure that governed American foreign policy since the end of World War II."
A burn-it-all-down segment of the electorate thinks it funny to vote for a burn-it-all-down president, who in turn appoints one burn-it-all-down official after another. From our wounded democracy to our very existence on this overheating planet, we may well not recover from the sheer banality this reality TV administration.
I am sorry for future generations who digs through the headlines of today. I'm with you, folks. What on earth have we come to? What in the world have we done?
839
@C. Whiting And what can we do?
15
@Luv the beach The 46% who didn't vote in 2016 could....vote?
65
@Ick of the East
Why do you think their votes would have mattered?
6
This is why this country needs a level-headed commander in chief. A person with experience dealing with foreign affairs and who realizes that alliances made over the decades cannot be discarded. A person who realizes that the United States of America is a central part of keeping order at home and throughout the world. A person whose values and morals are in sync with what this country should be synonymous with. Not a person who mocks and insults other leaders and countries and members of his own political system. We need a president who can attempt to reach across the table and have members of our political parties work in unison to bring our country together and to try to repair the damage to our reputation abroad. Shame on the political establishment who allowed this to happen unquestioned.
280
@MM
No name mentioned here...But it sounds like the kind of experienced, level headed leader that we desperately need...is someone like our former Vice President.
3
@MM
Shame on us all.
3
@MM There is a significant internal contradiction in your final two sentences: "We need a president who can attempt to reach across the table and have members of our political parties work in unison to bring our country together and to try to repair the damage to our reputation abroad. Shame on the political establishment who allowed this to happen unquestioned."
The political establishment that has allowed this to come to pass are the same people you would have your strikingly moderate next president reach out to. Nope. They deserve more than shame - they are entirely culpable for the ongoing disaster and have been obstructionist since 2009. Not only is reaching out to their 'better nature' futile, it would be morally wrong.
4
Today, Washington is more dependent on the presidency, and the world is more dependent on Washington’s decisions,..... the breaking of the federal government is the most consequential crisis of all.
Mr. Gans last paragraph is more frightening than any I've read since Trump took office. If I'm reading it correctly, the safeguards of our Democracy are being dismantled one piece at a time, and to the point where there may be only one branch of the government, the Executive. The Legislative and Judicial will only be there in name only.
This is tragic, no one or body of government willing or able to stop the destruction of our Constitution.
213
@cherrylog754 "It couldn't happen here" Well, it is happening! Let's see who the incompetent in chief appoints to replace Bolton. Can't be worse? Time will tell.
18
@cherrylog754
"the destruction of our Constitution."
Because Trump fired an acknowledged incompetent?
3
@Mike Edwards
Perhaps you should read @cherrylog754’s letter again. I believe it was more along the lines of “the safeguards of our Democracy are being dismantled one piece at a time, and to the point where there may be only one branch of the government, the Executive. The Legislative and Judicial will only be there in name only.”
The article *is* about Bolton’s dismantling of the NSC, one of those safeguards being described.
10
The author states: "Mr. Bolton’s most lasting legacy will be dismantling the structure that has kept American foreign policy from collapsing into chaos, and finally unshackling an irregular commander-in-chief."
Let's not forget the documented fact that Bolton withheld accurate intelligence information from both Colin Powell and George W. Bush because it would have stymied Bolton's efforts to march us to war with Iraq. Greg Thielmann, the State Department's senior intelligence analyst nailed the analysis - rightly concluding that there were no weapons of mass destruction as claimed by Bolton and his cronies. Bolton intercepted it and kept it from Sec State and POTUS. Bad on us if we let that part of Bolton's legacy be forgotten. He should be in jail for life over that event.
Let's never forget the damage done by Bolton now, or then.
1088
@Joel
"Greg Thielmann, the State Department's senior intelligence analyst nailed the analysis - rightly concluding that there were no weapons of mass destruction as claimed by Bolton and his cronies."
But anybody who was paying attention knew that. Remember that Hans Blix and his UN team of experts who were searching for WMDs were working in Iraq 4 full months before Bush invaded. The monitoring team arrived in Iraq in November 2002. And Blix reported well before Bush's invasion that the team had access to all of Iraq, no holds barred. And they found nothing. Nothing. All any US citizen needed to do was to listen to Blix, who was clearly right. Blix's reports were in every newspaper - so we all had a chance to stop the catastrophic war.
130
@Sam D All true. However, it is worth noting that Blix was not an intelligence analyst within our own State Department. Normally Thielmann's report would have gone straight to Powell. Bolton insinuated himself into that pipeline. And he made sure that Thielmann's key analysis was never seen by Powell or Bush. Knowing this matters.
49
@Joel Luckily, Trump has much better instincts than GWB did, not that you'll see any credit given in these pages for the fact that we're not currently at war with Iran.
3
If by some horrible, impossible series of events I awoke tomorrow morning and found some men in suits at my bedroom door who informed me that I was now President and no, I could not refuse the assignment--if that happened I would immediately begin to search for help: men and women with knowledge, experience, wisdom, and the guts to tell me the truth no matter how unpleasant. They would all know far more than me about their areas of expertise and I would be grateful for that.
This would in no way qualify me to be President, but it would at least give a foundation upon which to build.
Unfortunately, when the current President discovered he had been chosen by the electoral college, he mostly chose advisors in his own image. And the few who did have experience and knowledge found that they only irritated the Supreme Commander who had no interest in what they knew. Over time he replaced them, each time with someone of lower quality. I would say he's scraping the bottom of the barrel but in fact he's now choosing apples that fell out of the barrel last year. Not that it matters when the advisors either agree or depart.
We're in big trouble folks.
2
Trump needs a full time special needs medical team, more than a national security adviser.
The relentless chaos, churning of high level staff, dismissal of fact based news reports, picking fights rather than settling disputes, demonising of groups to suit his political agenda, is just normal service being resumed. Even the removal of Bolton is being used by Trump, to revive his days from the Apprentice, where he could say, ‘Your fired.’ This is not what good government looks like
On one level, the removal of Bolton, may lower the probability of a US attack on Iran, but on another level, which competent, qualified national security expert, would want to work in the current White House?
318
@Barry of Nambucca Ted Nugent packing his bags, ready to serve. Bringing extra underwear.
21
@Barry of Nambucca Please see the work of www.dangerouscase.org -- a group of top behavioral health professionals who have plenty of ideas about what to do.
Lol x 3
“Who knew that national security would be so complicated?”
237
@LumpyNational security, like trade wars, is easy.
10
I find it therapeutic to laugh at Trump's whining over Bolton's bad advice. Guess who appointed Bolton to the national security post in the first place. Here we have another example of Trump's incompetence -- not just Bolton's.
171
@Steve Schroeder Beat me to it. And there goes the boast about hiring "all the best people." And then, "You're fired!"
3
All warmongering government officials who try to instigate wars with other countries — including those who are itching for conflict with China — should be investigated for financial ties to the defense industry and lobbyists. When Trump and Kim had their first peace talks, defense stocks plummeted. There is a financial incentive for some individuals in power to keep the conflicts going.
1
Putin must be well pleased with his puppet as Trump dismantles our national security, alienates our allies,cowers before Putin, romances Kim and shills for Putin on the world stage. Trump is ignorant of history and knows nothing about foreign diplomacy ,attacks our intel agencies and sides with Putin over our Intel agencies. Trump is leaving America with a huge deficit ,a trade war and subservient to Putin and our national weather at the mercy of Trump's sharpie .
241
@REBCO
If only he WERE LEAVING!
16
@REBCO
Are we really sure that Trump is not an agent of Putin? A Russian plant couldn't do more damage to our government than what Trump has done and continues to do.
5
The best description I've seen of him was "Kissinger without the charm."
It's worth noting for all the president's faults, so far he has a better foreign policy record than Kennedy/Johnson/Nixon with Vietnam or Bush Jr. with Iraq.
2
Bolton's ultra-hawkish views have been well known for years. So how did he end up in the Trump regime? If Trump is now claiming that he didn't like Bolton's ideas, why was he chosen in the first place?
I'll offer a totally speculative answer: many of Trump's appointees were handed to him by outsiders wanting to control the Administration's national and global policies. Just like his Supreme Court appointees, who were selected by a privately funded, deeply conservative judicial/political entity, it is entirely possible that Bolton was pushed on Trump by the likes of Netanyahu and Sheldon Adelson who wanted to not just isolate Iran, but destroy it.
This may be wrong, or partially so. But given Trump's obvious disdain for information, statecraft, or governance, he is especially vulnerable to suggestions whispered in his ear by much savvier political operatives.
It's plausible, especially given the fact that Trump has fallen hook, line and sinker for Vladimir Putin. For a self-proclaimed business genius, Trump can be incredibly naive.
10
It's hard to decide what's worse: Mr. Bolton's self-appointed mission to change national security mechanics or Mr. Trump and his staff's failure to notice or understand.
That's aside from any ideological positions either took.
Among the many differences between FDR and Mr. Trump; a vast gulf between their experiences in government. The former served as undersecretary of the Navy; in the NY state assembly; as governor of New York; and as president for eight years before WWII.
It still didn't mean it was a good idea for him to 'juggle', just that he knew the stakes and machinery better than Mr. Trump.
That the GOP doesn't mind the terrifying prospect of letting Mr. Trump keep his first nuclear strike authority for any time at all, let alone another five years, is insane.
8
@Grennan
"Among the many differences between FDR and Mr. Trump; a vast gulf between their experiences in government. The former served as undersecretary of the Navy; in the NY state assembly; as governor of New York; and as president for eight years before WWII."
FDR's conduct of World War II was guided by a steady collection of civilian and military advisors: Admirals William Leahy & Ernest King; Generals "Hap" Arnold & George Marshall; cabinet secretaries Robert Morgenthau Henry, Stimson, Cordell Hull & Frank Knox. They, in turn, delegated to competent subordinates (e.g., future Nobel laureat Milton Friedman, who implemented income-tax-withholding). I'm not sure it's entirely fair to say that FDR "juggled" and "improvised" — and I don't think he was so arrogantly certain of his own brilliance as Trump.
Indeed, it was the experience of World War II that led to the formation of the modern-day Joint Chiefs of Staff and National Security Council structures (and the post-war international systems of NATO, the UN, IMF, World Bank, the EU, etc.).
People like Trump, Bannon, BoJo & other anarcho-capitalists want to burn it all to the ground because they're carrying water for plutocrats & oligarchs. They, along with overt neo-fascists like LePen & Orban, cozy to authoritarian dictators. In the US, the slogan ought to be "Make America 1929 Again."
3
@A. Reader
The aftermath of WII produced all those systems that have done a pretty good job of making and keeping most of Europe prosperous and peaceful.
But the U.S. security apparatus has an unstated issue/problem that's been growing in the decades since we instituted the all-volunteer armed forces. Civilian control of the military, one of the foundations of our country, gets harder and harder--even with the best intentions--with the development and reliance upon a professional military class.
Gen. Petraeus was, in this view, dangerously close to being the official policy setter about Afghanistan and Iraq. Each administration since has put civilian suits on generals for roles in which their military experience is both a plus and minus.
The minus is they don't have the civilian background and fewer and fewer of the civilians in charge have military experience.
And then came Mr. Trump...
Keep in mind that during Trump’s reign of error we have not experienced a single crisis that Trump did not himself initiate, much less a crises that seriously threatened national security. On this eve of the anniversary of 9/11, we know what can happen. We also know Trump’s luck won’t last forever. When that kuck runs out, run for cover.
9
“Reign of Error” is perfect. You need to sell T-shirt’s and bumper stickers. I’ll take one of each.
2
Now Bolton can go back to trying to restore the Pahlavi dynasty. That will at least put groceries on the table.
3
John Bolton, and Trump, both draft dodgers. Both of these wimps envisioned themselves as glorious warriors. They were none of this. They are nothing more than armchair generals and bullies who are ready and willing to put real warriors in harms way to feed their egos.
I am glad he is gone and can't wait until Trump goes.
23
What could possibly go wrong.., ? Well, for openers, Trump is no Franklin Roosevelt.
And, since Bolton hates everybody and thinks he’s the smartest guy in the room... He apparently didn’t know or acknowledge Trump ie the cruel and stable genius.
4
I say, from now on, it has to be the cleverest 1-liner. Otherwise, as Pelosi has said, it's just not worth the effort.
Nothing shocks me anymore.
1
Robert's idea of "reconstruction" does not sound so bad given the chaos that has been endured for the last couple of years!
A detailed and devastating piece on how John Bolton destroyed America's National Security Council. For those of us who always believed Bolton, as a far-right wing authoritarian, would damage or destroy America's national security system, most chilling is that "Trump split with Mr. Bolton and began consulting with outsiders like the Fox News personality Tucker Carlson."
What could possibly go wrong now that the NSC, like the Intelligence Community, is in tatters, and Trump and Tucker Carlson are creating America's foreign policy?
As much as people hold Trump responsible because of how similar his rhetoric and philosophy are to the El Paso killer, it's important to remember where Trump gets his talking points: Fox News.
For everything else horrible and post-factual Tucker Carlson says, he recently insisted white supremacy in America is a hoax perpetuated by Democrats and the rest of the media. A striking statement considering the deadly Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, and how many recent massacres, like those committed in El Paso and Pittsburgh, were perpetuated by white supremacists.
Anyone watching Fox's evening lineup hears language similar to the El Paso shooter's online screed, yet only Carlson spouted a specific ideological mix perfectly reflecting the killer.
That Trump and Carlson are now making American foreign policy without a national security system is even more terrifying than Trump and Bolton doing it after Bolton effectively dismantled the NSC.
13
Mr. Bolton brought his disgraceful ejection upon himself and by himself. He should have known better not to get associated with Trump in the first place. He deserves the ouster he got.
8
Just shows how close the end of this worldwide system really is as the US/UK world power will be fully functional at the end.
For the ongoing disaster that is the current administration, I can only be grateful that Trump tired of Bolton. The alternative would have been wars on multiple fronts.
9
Will the Senators finally act?
Are they confident that Trump and Tucker Carlson will be able to protect the US from the stratagems of former head of the KGB Putin and leader of the 'unfree world' Xi Jinping? And navigate the complex sectarian fissures of the Muslim world as well?
6
@EE - What you are describing sounds like the premise for a good BBC comedy starring Rowan Atkinson as Tucker Carlson.
1
Hmm, this sounds familiar. Remember Rex Tillerson and the hollowing out of the State Department. Was this really all about Bolton or more likely all about "Only I can fix it!" Donald Trump?
8
"Driven by confidence in his own ideas..." is quite an understatement. Arrogance — and a disdain for most of humanity — is more like it. Good riddance.
13
Hopefully we can now get back to the drone strikes and covert operations that made Obama's foreign policy so effective.
1
@Tad R. At least Obama wasn't on lapdog terms with the former head of the KGB. Or love letter terms with North Korea, with no stategic advantage for the USA.
7
@Sidito Yep, at least there's that. At the very least, there's that.
When President Roosevelt juggled, he tried to keep the balls aloft, balanced and catchable. When Trump juggles, he's just throwing balls in the air and the clowns that surround him sweep up after him.
27
One less disgusting manipulative killer in the govt. Now who will fire the Moron in chief?
34
While the op-ed places some blame on Trump, putting the emphasis on Bolton is misplaced.
If you bring dynamite and a wrecking ball to a construction site instead of elevators and cranes, your goal is to destroy what is in place instead of building.
Trump has alienated so many people with his insanity and unstable personality that qualified people will not volunteer to be part of history that will be shameful.
The only assets Trump can bring to the table are tools of destruction - thus the likes of Bolton.
While I was no fan of Reagan, he at least chose George Schultz as a secretary of state. Schultz was well qualified, competent and understood the need for continuity in foreign policy. I don’t know why today’s Republicans who used to worship Reagan don’t insist that Trump seek the competence that Reagan sought in appointees.
23
It took bolton 30 years to get his hair and mustache to agree on color
4
1 down and many to go...including the Big Kahuna. Vote Blue in 2020!!!!
17
Adios Bolton. I guess it is back to the doobie brothers. Oh wait, that was Michael Bolton. Oh well, back to Fox News.
10
This is an uninformative article. Despite its title, the only information it provides about how Mr. Bolton destroyed the National Security Council is "To realize that plan, Mr. Bolton included fewer people in meetings, made council sessions far less regular, and raced to always be by Mr. Trump’s side". Clearly, any future National Security advisor (of President Trump or a future President) could easily reverse this way of doing business. If a future President decides that the National security apparatus is important, he/she will make use of it. NSC may be broken now, but could easily be reconstructed and made useful.
5
You failed to get the essence of the article. Even if we get a different leader,the world's intelligence agencies are not going to trust the USA. We elected an idiot once, we can elect an idiot again.
2
Exactly what capacity to govern remains in the Executive Branch? FDRs assumption of control was perhaps dangerous; but know-nothing, make a mockery --of it, Trump?? It's terrifying.
11
The only NSC head who championed the causes of a foreign cult, the murky MKO, openly taking money to speak at their meetings. Good riddance.
2
Tucker Carlson? OMG, that is frightening.
Trump is truly incompetent and dangerous. He thinks by shrinking Gov he won't have to deal with anyone skilled or experienced and then he makes it up as he goes along. Remember what Tillerson said about working with Trump. Trump's ideas were illegal and he's a moron.
Trump doesn't respect anyone who's smarter or has more experience than he does in Gov. He doesn't want smart experienced people around him. He prefers those frauds who work at Fox who pander to him because he's so desperate for attention.
Trump out of his depth and increasingly insecure.
Nov 2020 seems too far away. Our Gov is being crippled piece by piece from this megalomaniac who seems to excel at bankruptcies, botched businesses, and broken marriages.
27
Shoulda hired Michael Bolton.
14
You elect a clown, you get a circus.
111
Damage done
Thank you Republicans
14
Thinking past the term of this president, it's the "disassembly," the "dismantling," and the "unshackling" that will stand as its destabilizing legacy. In the vision of this president (but really in the vision of such "controllers" as Steve Bannon, Stephen Miller, and other hard ideologues), the dismantling has been one of the top priorities. Bringing "disruptive change" to the environment of the Deep State, and to the essential structures and processes of stable governance, have always been in view.
To the extent that every government, and every president, "sculpt" and alter these structures and processes, this isn't anything new. But certainly the Trump administration, following the direction of such as Bannon, and using the experience of such as Bolton, has been far more disruptive, and gone far deeper, than other administrations.
If Trump is reelected, he will benefit from the procedural chaos his handlers have already accomplished. If the Democrats succeed in winning back the White House, their president will face one of the most extensive "reconstruction" agendas ever to confront an incoming executive.
Mr. Bolton? Mr. Bannon? Thank you for your service.
3
Trump will appoint Jared or Ivanka or both. Problem solved.
17
If incompetence sinks staff--look to leader--starts at the top
10
John Bolton has bolted out after a golden opportunity to serve the country as the NSA. He was clearly a hard linner and advocated the regime change in Iran. He reminds me of Al Haig. He thought he was the president or the next in command of the president. He was certainly full of himself and most like got under the skin of the president. Bye bye Bolton. You can write a book and make rounds on TV. As Comey has shown. Life after the white house is not all that bad.
1
"the breaking of the federal government is the most consequential crisis of all." Alas, this concluding sentence doesn't alarm me anymore.
The state-of-the-nation is _much_ worse than is being typically admitted, esp in MSM.
7
All I can say is I hope Rupert does the nation a solid and raises the quality of FOXNews dangles. O'Reilly, Hannity and Carlson are laughable as presidential advisers. But then, look at the advisee...
14
Are there other readers who miss the days when the worst scandal of the day was Obama wearing a brown suit?
Those were the days.
143
I do not miss the days where the media was so gaga with Obama that fails to objectively report and inform the public on important issues. Everything was great. The Arab Spring was praised by the media, and it was the dismantling of the status quo in the Middle East, resulting in failed states (Libya), the creation of ISIS, the collapse of the Egyptian economy, the refugee crisis in Europe, the expansion of Russia and Iran influence in the Middle East, the assassination of an US ambassador (because of a movie?), and all the media experts failed the American public in denouncing these amateurish foreign policy actions that resulted on massive human suffering. Another amateur move in letting the pressure off Russia (and Obama got Nobel Peace prize for it) that eventually enabled the Russian invasion of Crimea. We spied on Angela Merkel (bugged her cell phone), threw Netanyahu and Israel (an ally) under the bus all the time. Insulted half of Americans with “cling to their guns and bible”, and finally, Obama publicly mocked Trump during a White House Press Dinner event possibly pushing hyper-competitive, never a loser Trump to run for president just to get even. And the media reports were about his brown suit and baggy jeans. If the media would have treated the Obama administration with the same scrutiny as they are treating this administration, you would have a completely different opinion of the Obama administration. Such is the power of the media.
2
@3Rs, I'm sorry, but any mistakes Obama made pale in comparison to our present occupant of the White House.
6
“ Broke the National Security Council.” Guess what ??? I don’t care. Bolton was, and Is, an unrepentant War hawk. He WAS the second most dangerous person in D.C.. I’m very happy today.
Next ?????
16
I have to believe the next administration will fix this. Yes, there will be a next administration, and hopefully less than 2 years away. An experienced President, Vice President, and new National Security Adviser can certainly put the house back together. In the meantime, the insane ride continues.
15
So now it's just Trump and Tucker Carlson?
18
Pancho has been punished and now Delusional Donald Quixote can swing his wicked tweets at will against those who don't agree with his demented viewpoints.
10
This is the silliest NYT oped I’ve read in some time. “... in just 17 months Mr. Bolton effectively destroyed the National Security Council system”. There is no National Security System under Trump. Imagine, thinking that anyone serving Trump could break anything, as if the entire executive branch wasn’t a shambles. The author is arguing nonsense. Bolton is an irrational extremist, for sure. But he’s working for Trump. Nuff said.
7
What a relief! when I heard Bolton was stepping down I had the worst thought - but now that the split was not ammicable, I don't have to worry about a Bolton Secretary of State, when Pompeo leaves to run for the Senate.
5
@Paul
Ain’t gonna happen. Pompeo is holding out for VP. And he will get his wish, when Trump resigns. Pompeo was the representative for MY district. He is very smart and exceedingly ambitious. Beware.
4
Breaking of the Federal Government was what their 2016 Presidential Campaign was all about. So, I guess they've succeeded in one sense. But I am surprised to think that the NSA was what kept us at war with Cuba and Iran for the last 60 years or so.
So, who has been responsible for that?
3
@Steve The big money. Pepsi and the Bush family et. al. want their sugar plantations back, the Mob wants its casinos back, and BigOil wants Iran back. It's simple. As always, follow the money.
13
@Steve And the organizational chart goes: the big money owns the CFR, the CFR owns the NSA, the NSA "guides" the President (who's also owned by the big money). Usually.
2
@Rocky - Thank you for that input and education. We've got to break the backs of those people, Pepsi, the Bush Family, etc., Bushies and Trumpsters.
Let's back up and take a broad view several years down the road after Trump wins reelection.
Trump directs all foreign policy decisions with the help of Tucker Carlson. Trump also maintains a vacuum of inactivity on Climate Change reform. He also pursues his "easy to win" trade wars with China and Europe (yes he said tariffs should be initiated.)
Now consider several multi-trillion dollar disasters caused by hurricanes, unstoppable wildfires, and droughts and floods in agricultural areas. Then pile on top of that a few trillion dollars more of shooting war with China -- caused by irrational trade wars-- and with Iran and a Taliban/Isis consortium. Maybe in frustration he'll fire off several nukes.
Do we think Donald Trump is prepared to deal with any of that? Right now he appears to be pushing policies that will make that all come true. But his vision hasn't gotten past the gilt tapestries, gold fixtures in the bathroom, and the size of cheering crowds at his rallies.
If any small fraction of that horror vision might be correct, it should terrify every voter.
Please, Please, Please, vote in 2020 for some sort of rational government that can see past the next quarter's profits of the corporation.
39
@DGP
Not to mention, the fact he would not face re-election, so he can do what he wants without care.
That's a nightmare scenario for the United States.
5
@DGP
No, just wait for the 2 1/2 months after he loses the election. See how destructive he can be when he knows he's on the way out.
1
Let's just be thankful Bolton is gone! This is great news and should be the subject of joyous headlines. It's an early Christmas present to the world. Bolton's new Fox program - "A Bolt From the Walrus" will premier around Election Day, I am sure.
5
All of the clown/monsters that have entered government thru the Trump portal have "broke" various parts of the people's government. This is what the Koch bros. and Grover Norquist and Ronald Reagan and Lee Atwater and Rove and the rest have delivered onto us. This is their collective dream of unregulated capitalism combined lobbyist influenced government combined with a 10th century leaning Supreme Court come home to fruition.
The only hope is an equally focused and energized voter out pouring intent on destroying their dream and their power.
15
With his outrageous, obsessive, infantile, and chaotic way of attempting to govern our country, I really do think at some point, Trump will experience a great fall, a grave error that he won’t recover from. Seeing all this, his administration, his followers, his cult-like persona, and his playing the TV role from The Apprentice - the frequent firing of his administration/staff (this time it’s Bolton, who will be next?) - it’s not hard to see it all going up in flames at some point.
18
Trump's use of executive powers is a clear abuse of power.
DRT (Don't Re-elect Trump)
5
I'm less nervous about Americans finding themselves involved in (new) foreign wars and occupations with Trump all by his lonesome than I was with President Bush and a more effective version of Bolton, Dick Cheney.
1
Good news! John Bolton is out!.
Adding John Bolton in his cabinet was one of the biggest mistakes our president did since his inauguration but firing him is the best decision our president did, no question about that.
John Bolton launched all the bad policies that were rejected before he took over as the National Security Advisor. This man was pushing for military intervention across the world, he had a war agenda. I was worried about a war with Iran. I can sleep better now since this war mongerer is fired.
8
Any damage John Bolton did to the United States still can’t compare with the devastation he proudly helped unleash in Iraq.
15
I don't like Trump and I think he has spat on the dignity of some of the most honorable people in this country, by attacking the intelligence agencies. However, John Bolton is a complete lunatic and all worlds, including one's beyond this planet are safer and can rest easier now that he is out of the White House. I think most Democrats and Republicans can agree that it isn't good to have someone who's a proud warmonger around someone as impressionable and easily manipulated as our current president. Even if Bolton's reasons for leaving were honorable (he called Trump Jr. a tool or something), he is still a danger to everyone everywhere and the world is a better place with him not anywhere near a person of significant power.
13
For a man who spends the greater part of his days watching FOX and other news channels, tweeting insults at people, golfing, eating Big Boys, how does he find time to think about foreign policy? For that matter, since he doesn’t read and doesn’t pay attention to the voices of his aides, how does he even learn about foreign policy? From Tucker Carlson? From Sean Hannity? OMG. Who is coaching him on devious ways to steal money from Defense for his Wall? Tucker? Hannity? Who’s coaching him about all his other sly moves? Or does he dream up all this stuff while he’s trying to sink a putt? I’ll bet they coached him on Dorian and Alabama.
OMG again. Yes, let’s impeach him now and be very sure to vote in 2020!
28
@ASW
Trump likes Big Boys? Or Big Macs?
If it's Bob's Big Boys, I finally found one thing I agree with Trump!!!!
John
1
As a kid, I was taught the slow rise, and rapid fall, of Republics. I did the arithmetic back then, half a century ago, and it brought me to, oh, about now. Wise up, America. Begin staving off historic inevitability, can the clown. Begin now. Impeach. Indict. November 2020 is too late.
11
Trump running foreign policy with his uninformed, impulsive, vindictive and addled brain --- untethered to anyone --- is frightening, absolutely frightening.
18
You burn down the house, you get ashes.
Every time.
17
"Seat of the pants" assumes that Trump has intuition or experience. He has neither. What he has is an opinion which is ill informed and influenced heavily by the person who serves him his daily dose of French fries and sugary beverages or by the even more poorly informed commentators at Fox News.
It goes without saying that John Bolton's hiring was a mistake. To the extent that Bolton decimated the system, well... good for the system. The system gave us Trump, so he is giving back to it now. A system that allows a broken thing to be installed, will in time become undone itself.
C'est la vie !
19
This would be among the most serious issues of the day if the article explained it better.
I understand Bolton met less, and that policy was not coordinated and formulated. But exactly how was the entire national security coordination mechanism disassembled?
Assuming that the next national security advisor is perfect, what does s/he have to do to get back to normal? How long will it take?
Exactly what structural changes were imposed?
Otherwise, this article is just saying that Bolton didn't meet as often, and that's old news.
8
@we Tp The article points out that Bolton also shut out other members of the NSC, attempting to make himself the lone gatekeeper of national security policy. It wasn't just a lack of meetings --the meetings weren't happening because Bolton didn't want to hear or assess conflicting viewpoints and information. He wanted to be the Lone Ranger of national security policy.
Could the next national security advisor re-create the collegial NSC process? Maybe. But only if the 4th national security advisor in 2 1/2 years is a person of sufficient stature and self-confidence to do it. The odds seem to be against it; we're into the 4th string. And even if that happened, it is clear Trump won't tolerate hearing what he doesn't want to hear whether it comes from an individual or a group.
2
So much damage has been done to our country; including our national security. Are there no patriotic republicans in congress willing to put our country above their party and their personal power? Their cowardice and depravity is unforgivable and yes, deplorable.
91
This story makes clear the daunting task ahead of the next (Democrat) president when s/he takes office. In addition to purging any Trump deep state holdovers, s/he will need to begin the task of reversing executive orders that have had a deleterious effect on our democracy. Most of all, s/he will need to work diligently to rebuild dismantled political infrastructure and rebuild worldwide trust in American ideals.
God speed, President Warren.
58
@Aristotle Please, "Democratic." Let us not adopt the irrational ungrammaticality of conservative pundits
9
@Aristotle
I believe Elizabeth Warren is capable of rebuilding the government and doing it well.
Warren is close to many people who can offer her sage advice in this matter, including President Obama - who first urged her to run for the Senate, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry and other former Secretaries of State and Senators who will have institutional knowledge of what needs to be rebuilt and repaired.
I can't believe I'm even writing this.
It makes me want to cry.
6
It's too late for Bolton to resign or to be fired.
His departure cannot reverse the damage what Trump has done to the Obama's nuclear agreement with Iran, nor can it calm the harsh trade clash between China and US.
What is even worse, his resignation now leaves us an unrestrained President shows no hesitation to succumb to Russia, North Korea, and Taliban.
The real root of our diplomacy problem is not Bolton nor how he dismantles our national security system. And as Mr. Gans said in the column: "Whether Mr. Trump names a replacement for Mr. Bolton does not matter: No one is going to convince the president he needs a system now".
Our real problem is whom sitting in the Ovid Office and tries to destroy our constitution and government system fundamentally.
27
The only real and relevant question to ask is which of
the many fine messes out there will finally convince enough voters that enough is enough, this dude had better ride into the sunset. Trump's naivete, faith in the efficacy of his bluster, and style of chaotic careening with unclear goals and no real understanding of the opponent, will not help him
one iota at crunch time.
As one innocent naif in North Carolina was quoted, she
likes trump because he talks like we do. That is the source
of his appeal to people who feel the need to identify with and see themselves in their president. At some point, they need to realize that they should also expect some additional qualities of character and intellect in someone with such responsibilities. It is a fault of their education and their socialization, that they don't grasp this basic point.
This has led to the current odd
waiting period. Waiting for the one very important decision in response to an unpredictable act that will be very very wrong. In that respect this resembles the first half of 1914.
33
"Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities."
- Voltaire
"... experience assures us, that concentrating all of the powers of government in the same hands is but the definition of despotism.'
- Federalist #48
83
I can’t imagine that Orwell is smiling...
13
Thank you, Mr. Gans, for the freighted, frightening analysis.
John Bolton, however problematic his post in the Trump administration was, was never the problem in spite of his past baggage. The problem was--and remains--the unfettered president who is convinced of his own biblical sense of deific omnipotence and his omnipresence.
"Mr. Bolton persuaded Mr. Trump he didn’t need the National Security Council to make decisions; it is no surprise that the president eventually felt confident deciding he did not need a national security adviser, either." What I fear most is that Bolton enabled the president's messianic complex. With his foreign policy failures mounting, the president perhaps thought that he didn't need the failures of his national security adviser breathing down his neck, embarrassing him (Afghanistan, e.g.) and so he swung the axe.
In historical terms, America has had presidents who were either well-suited or poorly-fitted to the job. Past presidents understood that they had a reckoning with both the voters and with history; those were powerful checks.
Donald Trump, by his wobbly and out-of-control presidency, apparently is not constrained with performing the daunting tasks of his office. He also apparently is not very concerned about either an electoral reckoning nor a historical one. That is the chief danger now. Bolton unscrewed the lid off the Pandora's box that is the Trump presidency. And Donald Trump thinks that he can now do whatever he wants.
46
@Red Sox, ‘04, ‘07, ‘13, ‘18 Point of order. I've always thought that Pandora's box had a hinged lid rather than a screw top.
9
@Jim Cricket: You’re right. What else can I say?
2
So... can the USA ever be repaired?
How much more damage can Trump do in the next 1.5 years? We all know the answer - a lot!
118
To allow this administration to become even more emboldened, by providing him with a 2nd term, will make these current seem like only a warm-up exercise. Be sure to get out and vote in 2020...
184
Be sure to educate other people and encourage those who understand the function of a president to also vote.
16
Nope. Sorry. Don't blame Bolton for ANYTHING major.
1. Trump appointed him after burning through two others, one of whom (Flynn) whose objective was to break the NSA in Russia's favorvor.
2. On The Afghan talks, Bolton was correct. On the North Korea talks, Bolton was correct.
3. Trump broke the Iran deal lonnnnnnng before Bolton showed up.
4. Bolton spent most of his tenure in time-out.
9
@KM
Why don't you explains just what it was that Bolton was so correct about? From all descriptions he was always ready to unleash nuclear warfare. Show me I'm wrong.
4
I suppose the real surprise here is to compare Trump to Roosevelt. While the egos may match, there’s no comparison on the deliverables. Trump is a mere lightweight, no matter how blustery the delivery.
55
A tightly argued and well-supported thesis. I only wish the euphoria unleashed by Bolton's abrupt and unexpected departure had lasted even just 24 hours!
13
Be interesting to see which of his favorite bullpens Trump goes to for a replacement - billionaire buddies or sycophantic Republican members (or increasingly ex-members) of the House. Don't expect competence, experience, or independent thought.
102
@Dave: Perhaps Sean Hannity?
11
Bill O’Reilly is jobless...I mean available...
Trump can’t take a current pundit because then he would not be able to get his spoon-fed opinions from his fake news buddies on TV.
10
The allegation that FDR did not listen to advice and made all his decisions independently during WWII is simply not true. In fact, even suggesting a parallel between FDR and Trump, and then stating that the world was not as dependent on the U.S. in the 1940s, undercuts the whole argument. What is the point of this piece? We know that Trump listens to no one; his firing of Bolton was just one more example. Bolton did not dismantle something that already was not functioning.
89
@Emily
Even if that were true, FDR was infinitely more rational and circumspect than Trump.
103
@Wordsworth from Wadsworth
To even use FDR's and trump's names in the same sentence is disgraceful and heretical.
24
@Emily
"The allegation that FDR did not listen to advice and made all his decisions independently during WWII is simply not true."
The author elaborated on his assertion. Where is yours?
5
This is a very chilling article. I would appreciate it if the NYT could give us some detail on the NSC mechanism so we at least can see if the problem is as outlined.
If it is then those running for President must address it publicly, with concrete proposals for repair. Our very existence may depend on it.
39
While today he might be a villain, tomorrow he'll end up saying bad stuff about Trump and then write a book and go on national TV, and you will all change your mind and love him as long as he says bad things against your ultimate enemy.
9
@Kev Actually, the ultimate book will come from Melania. Think she may have a treasure trove of notes/sticky pads squirreled away in a safe place. Should be able to negotiate a huge publishers advance. Enough to tell Sharpie to agree to changing her son Barrons last name, and to take his pre-nup and chew it slowly.
8
Yesterday or the day before (I've lost count), in response to one of the numerous alarming stories emanating from the WH chaos, one commentator quoted Kurt Vonnegut to express their feelings: "True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country". I wanted to respond that actually a worse terror is to wake up one morning and discover that the high school class has handed over running the country to the kinder gardeners. God help us all.
Kurt Vonnegut
155
@Margaret I think you meant “kindergarteners”. In any case, I would be comforted to know that my grandkids’ kindergarten was running the country, instead of Trump. Things would be much better.
23
I get your point, but you clearly missed Vonnegut's. The fact is that I am now almost 60; my HS class is running the country. Do you get it now?
1
@Steve G
Yes, I remember that awful feeling. One day I got old enough to notice that all the cops looked like children.
Is it not typical for a Republican administration to short-circuit the NSC? Certainly George W. Bush and VP Cheney did. And there is Iran-Contra etc. under Reagan. How is it different this time?
36
@Chase Does that make blasting the NSA out of the water several times during this administration a good thing, then? Does deferring to the counsel of great minds like Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity, over experienced professionals--even if they are Revoltin' Bolton-- represent a good alternative and a positive path for our country?
12
@Chase
Didn't Kissinger do this when he was NSA for Nixon before becoming Secretary of State?
I appreciate a contribution to understanding which takes this mess beyond the usual psychiatric theology. An eradicated Council is not good news, and pundits given to lamentation should give this naked reality its due.
7
I wouldn’t feel comfortable letting our president run a sidewalk lemonade stand let alone our national security apparatus.
146
@galtsgultch: If Trump were running a lemonade stand, he would bankrupt it by the late afternoon.
5
"Eventually, Mr. Trump split with Mr. Bolton and began consulting with outsiders like the Fox News personality Tucker Carlson."
Read that a few times and let it sink in. Then dig up those plans for the bomb shelter in the backyard.
419
Exactly my thoughts.
5
Not sure if I get your comment. Tucker Carson is not pro-war. It is the total opposite, always pushing for getting the US out of all these interventionists wars. Perhaps you have never watched his program.
@3Rs, pushing to get us out might not be much better than pushing to get us into an interventionist war. As we have found in the past, if we withdraw without a plan we will just have to deal with it later. I believe in diplomacy and that takes a long time to take effect. Unfortunately, Trump isn't the right person to work diplomatically. He has no knowledge of the world of diplomacy and how it works. He thinks the president does it all and doesn't recognize the diplomatic process that has to enfold before the president takes an active role.
3
Trump has never run his foreign policy by the seat of his pants: he simply does his master's bidding and makes whichever decision will benefit Putin.
73
Looks like Ivanka will finally get a real title in the White House.
56
@SMFGO
Tiffany needs a job.
1
It is hard to say that Trump is actually saner than the warmonger Bolton. Let us count one of our rare blessings these past three years.
8
Is there nothing this Republican administration cannot destroy? Trump's cabinet is a perfect storm of lobbyists, sycophants, disruptors and imbeciles, which mirrors the personality of their boss.
76
@wcdevins Oh, the 1% are doing just fine! Because tax "reform"
10
Not so sure I agree with the articles assessment. I can't see where Trump listened to anyone anyhow.
17
LOL! When Trump brought John Bolton onboard, the progressive Left lambasted Trump for bringing in a pro-Iraq War neo-con who never met a foreign war he didn't like or propose to such a high level of policy making. Yet, now that Trump fired him because he wants to finally meet a campaign promise of moving away from nation-state building and the usual wars that result, the progressive Left ... you guessed it (maybe) ... lambasts Trump for that, too. Such typical Trump Derangement Syndrome. So typical New York Times.
5
@JW You just blasted a balanced, thorough, reasonable and well thought-out analysis of a very dangerous situation. I don't think it's worthy of you.
You need to realize that it's a complicated world and that it's possible for well-meaning, intelligent, educated and thoughtful people to have mixed feelings about complicated things.
The Times is not always right, but you picked the wrong time for a cheap shot. We need to do better than cheap shots, all of us.
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@JW Hardly. Both Trump and Bolton are guilty of crimes against America. Both should be in jail. It is a testament to Trump's insanity and incompetence that Bolton looks like the stable guy in the room.
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@JW
Glad you think this is funny.
"...now that Trump fired [Bolton] because he wants to finally meet a campaign promise of moving away from nation-state building and the usual wars that result, the progressive Left ... you guessed it (maybe) ... lambasts Trump for that, too."
But when one untangles that string of non sequiturs, one is left with just undisguised contempt for "the progressive Left"... and for the NYT, tacked on for good measure.
So, do you qualify for the backdrop seating at Trump's rallies, or do you just buy general admission tickets?
BTW, I have not seen any comment here which complains about Bolton being shown the door. Where did you get that from?
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