(Perhaps this is a new meaning for "jingo")
The rumor is widespread that DJT is seriously thinking of making Ambassador (recess appointment) John Bolton his National Security Adviser if LTG HR McMaster departs the job. I am no longer a great admirer of McMaster, someone who is suffering Russia and Iran Derangement Syndrome (RIDS), but Bolton? Bolton? My god! Not Bolton!
At one time I had the chore given to me of visiting the State Department from DIA to explain various events. In the round table discussions at Foggy Bottom John Bolton seemed ever present. He was a brooding, glowering, presence seemingly filled with free floating hostility towards alien populations in the lands of the Saracens. We had a few snarling exchanges.
Tucker Carlson and Lou Dobbs are bêtes noires of the neo-marxist left in the US. Their evening commentary shows on Fox TV routinely excoriate the Democrats. They are usually rather friendly to Bolton who is a paid personality on Fox television. In the two interviews linked they tear Bolton apart.
We should contemplate a future in which Mattis (the Iran hating adult), Pompeo, the mechanical engineer type, Bolton the jingo and the torturer lady may be a big part of the national security team.
pl
http://dailycaller.com/2018/03/07/tucker-carlson-john-bolton-iran-iraq-saddam/
http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/5751667843001/?#sp=show-clips
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_R._Bolton
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tucker_Carlson
Col. Lang
That would imply that the zionist neocons are in firm control of the Trump administration foreign policy. Bomb, bomb, bomb….Iran would be very happy.
Then does “national security team” denomination still applies?
Col:
Face it:
Since the cold war the so-called “establishment” has had a miserable track record of inept adventurism (Bush) balanced by timidity (Obama)and just plain being out-maneuvered by cleverer adversaries.
Give a new crew a chance;they can’t really do much worse.
And “gutting” the State Department; no big loss there.
Predominantly “America last” left wingers whining about housing and PX privileges.
I never met the man. I note that he has been described as a “kiss up, kick down” type of guy by some of his former employees.
Some claim that Trump hates Bolton’s mustache and will never appoint him:
http://www.businessinsider.com/john-bolton-mustache-cost-him-trump-cabinet-post-fire-and-fury-claims-2018-1
Since the election there have been rumors that John Bolton will soon get this or that position in the Trump administration every 6 to 8 weeks. The original source of each and everyone of these rumors is likely one John Bolton.
I don’t think that Trump or Kelly want to have such an uncontrollable nutter in a position where he could create real damage.
You forgot to add Bolton joining the Maryland National Guard to avoid service in Vietnam, nice move for a War Hawk…lol
Pompeo, the mechanical engineer type – pl
What is wrong with Engineers?
Wars in the Middle East, Mrs. May’s tantrum re Scripal, and the vsiceral hatred towards Russians when they are not-Yeltsins:
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-03-14/fatal-quad-who-assassinating-mi6-assets-british-soil
http://thesaker.is/syria-the-day-after-putins-speech-whos-doing-what-in-syria-part-iii/
I am on the left, and Tucker Carlson is a rare voice of sanity in my opinion. His willingness, at various times, to give Tulsi Gabbard, Jordan Peterson, and James Damore a hearing endeared him to me. He appears to me to be a man of principles in a job which selects against that.
Oh no, that crematorium fake news is back ON again from the mouth of HR McMaster:
I don’t like Lister, the parvenu on the Think Tank
https://twitter.com/Charles_Lister/status/974334608153219072
the set-up for another war in the ME is on _ the pipsqueaker at the UN, Pompeo at Foggy Bottom,etc
Will see what MBS will be told to do next week on his visit to the US!
james et most
You still don’t understand DJT’s mentality. In the world he comes from, only the boss matters. The rest of these people, whether of cabinet rank or not are just staff assistants, to be used so long as they are not a difficulty and then discarded. All of these people will eventually pass from the scene. pl
jose
Most engineers are people who do not do the vision thing well. They are problem solvers and assume that for every problem there is a finite factorable solution. pl
b
I hope you are right but I see the possibility of a war cabinet full of ignorant hawks. pl
TV
What is the thing about “housing and PX access? Ah, but you must be right. Only a leftist wimp would fear war with a nuclear power. pl
It should be clear to most people that our invasion of Iraq was our country’s worst blunder ever. To see Bolton claim that it wasn’t is frightening. Sure, Obama withdrew our troops from Iraq. However, in doing so, Obama was merely following the peace treaty Bush had previously negotiated with the Iraqi government.
Now, our government is turning its sights on Iran and Russia. Worse, the presidential candidate who seemed least likely to involve the US in military action is now choosing unrepentant war hawks like Bolton for advisors. What a frightening development this is. If we go to war in the Middle East again, it could soon turn into WWIII, this time with nukes. Maybe I’m missing something, but I don’t see the great reward that is supposedly worth risking WWIII over. What are we doing, other than trying to ensure everyone on the planet jumps when Washington says to?
Don’t blame me, I voted with the majority.
So true and here is a piece I just read that certainly supports your analysis: https://washingtonmonthly.com/2018/03/15/trump-just-explained-why-he-is-a-congenital-liar/
I consider myself on the left and I think Tucker Carlson is the real deal. I watched him take on some crazed neocon about the Iraq war. When the idiot trotted out that Tucker was for the war too, TC simply said I was wrong. Having never dealt with open honesty in any media format the slime creature was reduced to babbling scripted platitudes.
Pure beauty to watch. And to tell the truth I used to really hate him.
But I was wrong.
Let’s start a rumor – Tulsi Gabbard is under consideration again for Trump’s cabinet. I know, it’s just a dream.
Some claim that Trump hates Bolton’s mustache and will never appoint him:
I can not stop laughing after reading the piece. Man, talk about high standards for a Cabinet position.
I can understand hating Bolton’s mustache. Every time I see the man on my tee vee, I am reminded of old Yosemite Sam cartoons. Not a good image for anyone wanting to be taken seriously.
Does anyone know if Trump himself specifically said in a tweet or somewhere that he doesn’t like Bolton’s moustache?
Because if he didn’t say it, Bolton is a shoe-in. Because Bolton is the only person around with the maximum anti-Iran credits to satisfy Trump. Bolton has been the number one “diplomat” screaming for war with Iran for the last decade or two. No one else could outdo Nikki Haley for sheer insane proclamations about Iran.
So either Bolton goes to the UN and Haley gets promoted or Bolton goes to the White House.
Either way war with Iran is guaranteed – but only once Hizballah is degraded (if possible) because Israel won’t allow war with Iran as long as Hizballah can drop 1,600 missiles a day on Israel.
So we’re back to an Israel/US war on Lebanon, extended into Syria.
Unless Russia decides to step up. Which they might since they’ve said they want a “military cooperation” agreement with Lebanon.
F–k You, you biased moron!
Sir,
Oddly, it seems that lots of leftist wimps are indeed all for war with a nuclear power, if the pronouncements of their representatives in the MSM and government are to be taken seriously; that or these people simply lack the imagination to understand the potential consequences of their bellicosity.
This Russia/Iran/Syria/Ukraine derangement syndrome seems to have just about everyone who is anyone (aka Borg) in its grips.
I agree with B – this Bolton rumor keeps coming up and it probably originates with Bolton himself. If it ends up being true, even I will turn my back on Trump and write him off as an idiot that has betrayed his base.
Dave
The majority in the Bear Republic? pl
I have spent a lot of time over the years with engineers and they are wonderful people. But they will never ever come up with a simple solution for anything, even if one is available.
As far as Trumps’ B team, I do not expect them to be any better than the A team, which lost 40% of the players in the first year. The best we can hope for is that they do not start WW III.
Ummm, if by gutting the state department, you mean that it is already useless, well, that is what happens in late empire, but it is not a good thing.
Look, the US order after WW2 was built on a combination of soft power (State Dept, trade, Loans from IMF & W Bank, US universities, etc.) and hard power (needs no explanation).
In recent decades, the US, very rapidly losing competitive advantage to China, has given up on soft power, as it interferes with Wall St profits, leaving only hard power. The Trans Pacific Trade Agreement was a masterful soft power plan to contain China, but US greediness was a major factor in Trump’s election and its demise (for which I applaud).
No soft power ensures that when the US empire ends (as all things human always do), it will be by military means. Given the power of today’s weapons, it likely will make WW1&2 look like a picnic in terms of destruction. Maybe Einsteins maxim about WWIV being fought with stone age weapons will be correct. But until we get a colony on Mars, this next empire transition will (pre Steven Hawkings) be the most dangerous for humanity, ever.
No.
We certainly don’t need any more foreign adventures, but when crazy people get their hands on nuclear weapons, what next?
As for my “PX privilege and housing” comment, I heard that second hand from family members (military and civilian) who had worked at US embassies.
You sound like your next act is an exploding head.
I agree, Colonel, and I am an engineer. Engineers are typically thing oriented and are good (hopefully) at solving well circumscribed problems. “Vision” types are much better at motivating and selling but often don’t distinguish well between the possible and impossible. A good “Vision” person can bring engineers out of their parochial setting. And sometimes you hit a good combination like Wozniak and Jobs and lightning ensues.
tv
Which crazy people have nuclear weapons? North Korea? The Iranians do not nor are they anywhere close to that. IMO no civilian employees of the government should have access to PX or commissary store access unless they work for DoD overseas where other facilities are often not available. That would include the Foreign Service, the CIA and NSA. State Department housing is their own special obsession concerning status and has nothing to do with anyone else. pl
These neoconpeople are so single minded and fanatical, it seems like out-thinking them at their own ‘game-theory’ psy-op would not be so dificult. Is the United States in any position or any shape to sustain a great power conflict of the kind these people are blundering toward like bulls on ice. At least Brzezinksi and the Rhodes-Milner Atlanticist crowd recognize local limits even if total US-UK global domination remains their unwavering goal.
How would this Mattis guy be in George Marhall’s shoes? These guys are so used to beating up on third worlders, I’m skeptical they could handle operational command against anyone who can actually land some hard body blows. Can NATO replace 300 MBTs a week when the cargo ships from Tianjin stop running?
ISL
You are out of date. Modern communications have reduced Foreign Service people abroad to messengers and people who lay wreaths, issue visas, visit prisoners, and enjoy their overseas allowances. The State Department per se has become a sinecure for people who can pass the Foreign Service Examination. I did. pl
actually the only nice thing about him is his mustache. He indeed have a good looking one
lars
I keep trying to tell you that they are nothing to him and that he will continue to change them. pl
There’s a marxist left in the USA fighting oligarchy on behalf of the proletariat ?
From the “liberated” Ukraine: https://www.fort-russ.com/2018/03/savchenko-i-saw-exactly-who-organised-snipers-at-the-maidan/
“The shootings on the Maidan will never be investigated,” Savchenko said at a briefing. She pointed out that the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, Andrey Parubiy, was personally involved in the shooting of the protesters, and the Prosecutor General Yury Lutsenko creates interference in the investigation.”
— Neo-Nazi are in charge in Kiev; the Kagans’ clan is content.
For turcopolier. Given the ascension of the “war with Iran will be fun” clowns, is it possible for Trump to order a stupid war?
I assume that the Pentagon has a number of plans for Iran running the gamut from a bloody nose to armageddon. Is it possible for Trump to reject all existing plans and order a completely nonsensical attack that the Pentagon would comply with? How much constraint does the system provide?
@26
4m of Hillary’s 2.8m vote majority came from the Bear Republic. A majority in the other 49 states voted for Trump. Seems our founders had a pretty good idea when they set things up so it would be hard for a large state to run roughshod over the rest of the country.
OTOH, Trump and Hillary are both scary, but in different ways. So is Bolton, appreciate your pushing back at him.
Dear Colonel,
Fair dinkums. So where does the diplomatic expertise that used to be in the State Department now reside? Certainly not in our for sale to high campaign donor ambassadors, I hope.
Is it at the State Department in DC, or has it devolved to the intelligence community.
I do know that the military now conducts has its own diplomatic officers, but I am guessing their purpose is to smooth US military power.
Response to ISL @ #28
Great comment, ISL. I’d just like to add a few nuances.
Re: “Look, the US order after WW2 was built on a combination of soft power (State Dept, trade, Loans from IMF & W Bank, US universities, etc.) and hard power (needs no explanation).” I’d add US private sector banks to the loan list, and put them all in the hard power category. Check out John Perkins’ Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, and/or his subsequent books on the subject.
Re: “The Trans Pacific Trade Agreement was a masterful soft power plan to contain China, but US greediness was a major factor . . “ I’d insert “corporate” between the “US” and “greediness.”
Your last paragraph is right on. The world was extraordinarily fortunate that a person with the character of Mikhail Gorbachev was leading the USSR when that state imploded. We should be so fortunate; as unlikely it will be in the case of the US, as it appears at the moment.
TimmyB,
What peace treaty, we never declared war? The Iraqi government refused to sign a new status of forces agreement the US wanted; they refused to do so to force the withdrawal.
Engineers are the guys who came up with the roundabout. That probably is enough to have a good idea of what the average engineer is like.
As for Trump and Bolton, I wonder if that’s another variation on the “Crazy Nixon” theory. As in, he threatens to bring a bunch of crazies on his team, he might actually bring them in – but being the only boss, he’ll deny their craziest wishes -, mostly to bring Iran to the negotiating table and make another deal (in which case, Trump being Trump, he might as well sign a deal that is just as ok for Iran as the current one, as long as it’s his signature on it and not Obama’s). It would help to be clear about his plans for North Korea – was the bordering crazy warmongering discourse and the nuclear threats just a way to push them into open negotiations, or were they real serious threats?
At the very least, I hope it’s just a trick of his, and that he’s not actually a true believer in waging war on Iran.
As a Physics and Philosophy major from a medium-size liberal arts college, but also a person who has worked with the electrical sub-species of engineers most of my career, I have to agree with you Colonel. There have been some exceptions, but they only prove the rule. I also have a social friend who is an EE graduate of one of the top such programs in the country, and also has an MBA from Stanford, again a top-drawer program. My wife and I are in a group of eight or ten who get together half a dozen times or more a year and he usually manages to say something that reveals an utter cultural cluelessness. Not long ago he casually mentioned that he hadn’t read a novel since he was in high school! This is a guy who is now in his 70s.
The claim that Gina Haspel was in charge of a secret prison in Thailand that during the infamous interrogation of an al-Qaida suspect? Pro Publica has issued a major correction of an earlier report making that claim.
Correction: Trump’s Pick to Head CIA Did Not Oversee Waterboarding of Abu Zubaydah
ProPublica erred when it reported in 2017 that Gina Haspel was in charge of a secret prison in Thailand during the infamous interrogation of an al-Qaida suspect.
ProPublica erred when it reported in 2017 that Gina Haspel was in charge of a secret prison in Thailand during the infamous interrogation of an al-Qaida suspect.
https://www.propublica.org/article/cia-cables-detail-its-new-deputy-directors-role-in-torture?utm_campaign=sprout&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_content=1521153688
If Trump had a definite game plan it is plainly not what his campaign rhetoric promised. I think some people that have access to Trump massage his ego and tell him how great people would think he is if did this or that. And too he is looking for money for his 2020 run from the same ultra I hawk donors like casino king Adelson.
Jose
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/12/magazine/12FOB-IdeaLab-t.html?mtrref=www.google.com&gwh=987ECB62D414CCD6BB999CFBB4F6B5A7&gwt=pay
They’re prone to terrorism
I agree with you about that, but the federal government is too big and too complex to be run by one man. Things still have to be done and hopefully done right, or close to it. Incompetence will have consequences and typically not good ones.
All,
I’m thinking that the names of the worst are being floated to make us clap for the lesser known but just as bad.
doug,
I think the problem is that, far too often, you wind up getting engineers trying to do the vision thing and vision people assigned to engineering tasks. Engineers usually come up with neat, clean, packaged solutions, which are usually good idea, but not necessarily when the problems are too complex and messy. The problem with the US policymaking (and also campaigning) establishments these days seems to be that they are all being run by “engineers” (no disrespect meant) who are looking for neatly defined “right answers” instead of trying to sort through the complexity adequately. This extends even (or especially) to the democracy mongers and liberationists who are nominally selling a “vision.” The way they seem to be going about it is so formulaic and unimaginative.
The Paranoid One with the seriously damaged psyche is far more concerned with loyalty (to him) than he is with the ethical conduct, expertise, or competence of people he appoints or endorses.
According to Trump and his sycophants, anyone who does not pledge absolute loyalty to Donald is “biased” against him and should be purged from the federal government.
This revolving door of ineptitude has been in place even before Donnie took the oath of office, and we can expect it to continue so long as we have a megalomaniac sitting behind the desk in the Oval Office.
Bolton is also one of the primary voices behind the “War with China!” crowd.
IMO, his greatest threat isn’t his opinions on the ME but rather his determination to start a war in Asia; with the recent saber-rattling over DPRK, Bolton’s repeated invitations to Taiwan (via the DPP-the current “leftist” party in charge of the place) are particularly concerning.
There may be reason to believe even the story Trump told to this group of the conversation he had with Trudeau was itself a complete fabrication on his part. There was a brief report in the news earlier today stating Canadian officials had no idea when and what meeting Trump was referring to when he was supposed to have made these remarks to Trudeau. (Have seen no other references to that report since.) May or may not be accurate.) In any case, there could be a double-decker lie here, not that that would be unusual, especially for this guy Trump.
ISL
“I do know that the military now conducts has its own diplomatic officers,” Who are they? pl
How does a creature like Bolton come into existence?
Because to spend a professional lifetime acting as an extension of the Likud party, requires a deep indoctrination and extensive grooming process.
Where do these people spawn?
wisedupearly Ceo
Very little other than attempts at persuasion. pl
Augustin L
Yes, people like you. pl
Colonel,
Send. Rand Paul announced he would be opposing both Pompeo and Haspel nominations.
http://theantimedia.org/rand-paul-oppose-trump-cia-state-department/
Trump was a con man from the get go with no intention of implementing a non-interventionist foreign policy. To get elected he mouthed a the right non-interventionist rhetoric but this was belied by his embrace of torture, bellicose statements about Iran and the presence of advisers like Woolsey, Ledeen and yes, John Bolton during the campaign. Upon election he immediately expanded drone strikes and commando raids worldwide while loosening the rules of engagement and increased operations and troop levels in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. Amazingly in less that a year Trump has gotten US soldiers killed in action in six, six! different countries. Sad that he has dashed the hopes of so many and that it now appears things are going to get even worse.
James just how long did it take you to come up with this brilliantly articulate riposte/dissertation. Comments like this are what make SST the must read source for cogent logical argument on complex topics. So much of the internet today is given over to ad hominem attacks and Twitter length inanity it is a relief to come here to read.
I would like to ask an anybody can answer question.does the USA truly have the depth of upper management that can allow DT administration to bring in teams on a rotational basis to work on finding solutions to evolving problems and at the same time pursue long term goals.
I myself being self employed in a large organization of one person wonder about these jugglers or has the DT administration gone reality show time long c.
James Brower is reporting McMaster is gone but a replacement has not been picked yet. He is remarkably accurate with his scoops on the Trump admin too, Trump isn’t happy with DeVos either. I agree this is a key pick, Bolton would be disastrous. Pompeo will mostly just go with Trump wants so I see him as neutral over all, need someone who will bring some balance back.
https://medium.com/insurge-intelligence/army-study-us-strategy-to-dethrone-putin-for-oil-pipelines-might-provoke-ww3-9b1d9dbe6be9
I thought this might be interest of some.
Peter Reichard
your explanation of his foreign behavior implies methodical plotting. I doubt that exists. To me it is more likely that he is just a bumbling fan of Sean Hannity. pl
“Engineers usually come up with neat, clean, packaged solutions..”
ingenious adj. characterized by cleverness or originality of invention or construction
The people you describe may call themselves engineers, but they don’t sound like the kind I know. Perhaps that bridge in Florida was build by one of them.
Sir
Your post is deeply worrying. The more so since you are a man of great expertise. The West has blundered into a game it can´t win and in a region it can´t afford to loose. The West (and Israel) have already lost. It just hasn´t been acknowledged. The only thing that is left for the West is a conventional attack that can´t be won. The next stop then will be nuclear war. Sane people realize that. I would posit (on no other grounds but optimism) that we will survive this particular period of brinkmanship.
But afterwards there will be hell to pay. I see us veering towards civil war. The same forces that brought about this needless confrontation and the disaster in the middle east will be deeply discredited. In Europe this will mean a confrontation between one world, multi cultural liberals and tradionalists. As a strong and militant Muslim minority is involved this will not be a mere change of government. There will be real confrontation. France was only a first sign of worse things to come. I think that the powers-that-be feel this and theirs is a last desparate throw of the dice. And nowhere more so than in Great Britain where this latest attempt to fend off the inevitable is originating.