Exclusive: John Bolton’s Plan to Run for President

In the past 48 hours, US establishment media outlets and sources from inside the government have apparently awakened to national security advisor John Bolton’s warmongering and undermining of the Trump presidency. Rick Sanchez breaks it down.

Then, political strategist John Jordan joins to discuss the sudden media scrutiny of John Bolton and his problematic career. He argues that Bolton “is a disaster” and glorified “talking head” who may very soon be out of a job.

Old Grudges, New Weapons… Is the US on the Brink of War with Iran?

THE OBSERVER: While American hawks talk up an ‘imminent’ threat from Tehran with no hard evidence, echoing the start of the Iraq conflict, hardliners are in the ascendant in Iran

For better or worse, America remains the world’s leading military superpower. In Washington last week, a familiar row erupted over how best that power should be used. Past targets have included Soviet Russia, al-Qaida in Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein in Iraq. Today the international bogeyman topping the White House’s to-do list is Iran.

Once again the US is in the process of deciding whether to go to war. As always, it is a tangled, messy and dishonest business. On one side, favouring punitive action, stand the Iran hawks. They include neoconservative retreads such as John Bolton, Donald Trump’s national security adviser, who championed the 2003 Iraq invasion; Mike Pompeo, a former CIA director and Christian evangelical who heads the state department; and Mike Pence, the ascetic US vice-president.

On the other side, opposing escalation, stand Democratic party leaders in Congress and a clutch of presidential hopefuls; sceptical Pentagon generals and security agency officials who trust Bolton as far as they can toss an IED; a majority of Washington’s more important allies in the EU and Nato; and China and Russia, which oppose American global power-plays on principle. » | Simon Tisdall | Saturday, May 18, 2019

John Bolton: The Man Driving the US towards War … Any War

THE GUARDIAN: Donald Trump’s national security adviser is stoking tensions with North Korea, Iran and Venezuela, in line with decades of taking the most hawkish position on any given issue

The US is now engaged in three major confrontations around the world that have the potential to degrade into war. And in the driving seat on all three fronts is John Bolton, one of the most fervent believers in American military power ever to work in the White House.

Donald Trump’s 70-year-old national security adviser has been a fixture in US foreign policy over the past four decades, and has spent that time, whether in or out of government, mostly arguing for the most hawkish position on any issue put in front of him.

“He actually believes when America leads, the world is a safer and better place – not just for us but for the world,” said Mark Groombridge, who worked for Bolton for more than 10 years.

In the Obama era, Bolton’s bristling walrus moustache was a near constant presence on television, almost always Fox News, from where he would vent scorn and spleen on the Democratic administration.

These days, Bolton looks considerably more cheerful, having reached the peak of the policymaking establishment that had once seemed out of his reach. » | Julian Borger in Washington | Friday, May 17, 2019

CrossTalk: Bolton War Machine

Is Donald Trump’s National Security Advisor John Bolton a clear and present danger to America and the world? His saber-rattling in the Middle East, particularly against Iran, should concern us all. We are forced to ask a fundamental question – is Bolton the primary architect of Trump’s foreign policy? CrossTalking with Brian Becker, Gareth Porter, and Max Abrahms.

John Bolton Wants Regime Change in Iran. What’s His Alternaative?

THE NEW YORK TIMES: White House Reviews Military Plans Against Iran, in Echoes of Iraq War » | Eric Schmitt and Julian E. Barnes | Monday, May 13, 2019

Will John Bolton’s Dream to Bomb Iran Come True? Ex-Iranian Ambassador Warns About US Escalation

The Pentagon has reportedly drawn up a plan to send as many as 120,000 troops to the Middle East if President Trump decides to take military action against Iran. The New York Times reports the Pentagon presented the proposal on Thursday after National Security Advisor John Bolton requested a revision to an earlier plan. Bolton has long advocated for attacking Iran. According to the Pentagon, far more than 120,000 troops would be needed if a ground invasion was ordered. This comes as tension continues to escalate between the United States and Iran. The United States recently deployed the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and a bomber task force to the region claiming there was a “credible threat by Iranian regime forces.” Iran has announced it will stop complying with parts of the landmark 2015 nuclear deal and resume high-level enrichment of uranium in 60 days if other signatories of the deal do not take action to shield Iran’s oil and banking sectors from U.S. sanctions. The U.S. has attempted to cut Iran off from the global economy, even though Iran has remained in compliance with the nuclear deal. We speak with Ambassador Seyed Hossein Mousavian, a Middle East Security and Nuclear Policy Specialist at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. He served as spokesperson for Iran in its nuclear negotiations with the European Union from 2003 to 2005.

John Bolton Gearing Up the US for War with Iran

Via America’s Lawyer: Host of Watching the Hawks, Tyrel Ventura, joins Mike Papantonio to discuss the reasons behind national security adviser John Bolton’s statements about Iran, which has raised U.S. Iran tensions to a new high.

Trita Parsi: John Bolton Has Wanted War with Iran for 20 Years. Now Could Be His Best Chance

Iran is accusing the United States of “psychological warfare” after National Security Advisor John Bolton announced the U.S. is deploying a carrier strike group and a bomber task force to the region.

In a statement on Sunday night, Bolton said the move was intended to “send a clear and unmistakable message to the Iranian régime that any attacks on United States interests or on those of our allies will be met with unrelenting force.”

On Monday acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said the deployment was made because of a “credible threat by Iranian régime forces” but he offered no details. Axios is reporting the threat is based on information passed on from Israel.

The Trump administration has been ratcheting up pressure against Iran following Washington’s withdrawal from the landmark Iran nuclear deal last year. Last month, the US designated Iran’s élite Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization. The Trump administration also said it will end a waiver program that allowed some nations to circumvent US sanctions and continue buying Iranian oil without suffering penalties.

We speak with Trita Parsi in Washington DC, author of “Losing an Enemy: Obama, Iran, and the Triumph of Diplomacy.” He is the founder and former president of the National Iranian American Council, and an adjunct associate professor in the Center for Security Studies at Georgetown University.

John Bolton Can Almost Taste War With Iran

Bolton announced yesterday that the US was deploying a carrier strike force to the Middle East to convey the message to Iran that the US doesn't want war. Makes perfect sense.

US Deploys Aircraft Carrier and Bombers after 'Troubling Indications' from Iran

THE GUARDIAN: National security adviser John Bolton says any Iranian attack on US or its allies will be met with ‘unrelenting force’

The US is sending an aircraft carrier and a bomber task force to the Middle East in response to a “number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings” from Iran, the national security advisor John Bolton has said.

It was unclear on Sunday night what Iranian actions Bolton was referring to. There have been no recent incidents in the Persian Gulf where US and Iranian navies are routinely in close proximity and the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group was already bound for the Gulf a month before Bolton made his announcement.

However, the tone of Bolton’s declaration looked likely to escalate tensions in the region, and it comes days after the Iranian government expressed concern that Bolton and other hawks were seeking to draw the Trump administration into a new war.

In a written statement, Bolton said the ships and planes were intended “to send a clear and unmistakable message to the Iranian regime that any attack on United States interests or on those of our allies will be met with unrelenting force.” » | Julian Borger, World affairs editor | Monday, May 6, 2019

Pompeo and Bolton Push Us Closer to War with Iran

With the United States designating a part of Iran’s military as a terror group, the administration is inching even closer towards a war with Iran. And thanks to a law passed by Congress shortly after the 9/11 attacks, they might be able to do it without having to get approval from Congress first. Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins explains how this new designation could allow the administration to act unilaterally against Iran.

Donald Trump Jr and John Bolton Berate UK Leaders over Brexit

THE GUARDIAN: President’s son and US national security adviser in apparent coordinated intervention

Donald Trump Jr and the US national security adviser, John Bolton, spoke out over Brexit on Tuesday in what appeared to be a coordinated intervention by the White House into British domestic politics.

Both the US president’s son and Bolton attacked British political leadership after Theresa May said she would ask the EU for a delay to the UK’s exit from the European Union; in line with parliament’s wish.

In an article for the Daily Telegraph, Trump Jr said May should have listened to his father’s advice over Brexit, saying that a “process that should have taken only a few short months has become a years-long stalemate, leaving the British people in limbo”. According to the prime minister, Trump advised her to “sue the EU – not go into negotiations”. » | Kevin Rawlinson | Tuesday, March 19, 2019

Can the US Force Maduro to Step Down? l Inside Story

Venezuela’s economy has been in crisis for years. Hyperinflation is skyrocketing and millions of people have left the country. And the president hasn’t been able to fix it.

Now the US is hitting Nicolas Maduro even harder where it hurts, in a bid to get him out of office. It’s imposed sanctions on Venezuela’s state oil company blocking seven billion dollars in assets and is recognising opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim president.

Washington’s called on the military, which is so far standing by Maduro, to accept a peaceful transfer of power… and warned otherwise there could be consequences. How far will Washington go to change the government in Caracas?

Presenter: Richelle Carey | Guests: Jairo A Lugo-Ocando, Director of Executive Education and Graduate Studies at Northwestern University in Qatar; Charles Shapiro, Former US Ambassador to Venezuela; Diego Moya-Ocampos, principal analyst for Country Risk at IHS Markit in the Americas team.

Bolton: We're Taking Venezuela's Oil

Yesterday, Trump's National Security Advisor John Bolton made the US position clear in a FoxNews interview: Washington will overthrow the Venezuelan government and take its oil for the benefit of US companies. This is "regime change" on steroids!

John Bolton Gets Us One Step Closer to Nuclear War with Russia

Donald Trump’s National Security Adviser John Bolton is blocking talks at the moment that could help extend a nuclear treaty between the US and Russia, and instead he wants the US to just pull out of these nuclear agreements. Not only is this move being derided as hasty and reckless, it would also send a signal to the rest of the world that the US is no longer keeping their word on agreements from the past. This is dangerous, and John Bolton is clearly calling the shots in this administration. Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins discusses this.

John Bolton Makes It Clear That War With Iran Is Around The Corner

Donald Trump’s National Security Adviser John Bolton delivered a speech this week that left little doubt about the administration’s plans to invade Iran. During his speech, Bolton said that the US is watching the country and that we are prepared to “act” if necessary. He didn’t lay out exactly what the country was doing that was worthy of starting another US war, but that hasn’t stopped Bolton in the past. Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins discusses this.

Wilkerson: Don't Trust Trump, Bolton to Deliver US-North Korea Peace

The US has suspended war games as part of Trump's commitment in Singapore, but his administration can't be trusted to deliver a comprehensive denuclearization deal with North Korea, says Col. Lawrence Wilkerson

John Bolton Names Professional Islamophobe & Bush Official Fred Fleitz to National Security Staff

The White House has appointed a longtime senior staffer at an anti-Muslim think tank who has been named by National Security Adviser John Bolton as his new chief of staff. Fred Fleitz formerly served as Bolton’s undersecretary of state in the George W. Bush administration. He now joins the Trump administration from the Center for Security Policy, a think tank founded by former Reagan administration official Frank Gaffney. The Southern Poverty Law Center designated the organization an anti-Muslim extremist group. We speak with Eric Levitz, associate editor for New York Magazine’s “Daily Intelligencer,” whose recent piece is headlined “Bolton Installs Anti-Muslim Wingnut as NSC Chief of Staff.”

Have Bolton and Pence Killed US-North Korea Peace?

After cancelling his June 12th summit with Kim Jong-un, President Trump now says talks are still possible. We speak to journalist Tim Shorrock about North Korea's overlooked and misunderstood concerns and how Mike Pence and John Bolton stand in the way of peace.

WW3: George Galloway : North Korea Will Never Bow To Trump