It looks as though President Trump may be trying to free himself from the grasp of the neocon cabal that surrounds him.
On Tuesday, Trump announced on Twitter he was firing John Bolton:
….I asked John for his resignation, which was given to me this morning. I thank John very much for his service. I will be naming a new National Security Advisor next week.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 10, 2019
Bolton claimed he planned to resign.
I offered to resign last night and President Trump said, "Let's talk about it tomorrow."
— John Bolton (@AmbJohnBolton) September 10, 2019
Neocons and neolibs both threw fits over it.
John Bolton's sudden departure is a symbol of the disarray that has unnerved our allies since day one of the Trump Administration. Steady leadership & strategic foreign policy is key to ensuring America’s national security. https://t.co/MQIYet8pnA
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) September 10, 2019
I’m legitimately shaken by the grave instability of American foreign policy today.
I’m no Bolton fan, but the world is coming apart, and the revolving door of U.S. leadership is disappearing America from the world just at the moment where a stable American hand is most needed.
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) September 10, 2019
Mitt Romney outspoken on Bolton’s firing: “I’m very, very unhappy to hear that he is leaving. It’s a huge loss for the andministration and for the nation.”
Asked about a possible replacement, Romney suggests “John Bolton”
— Nicholas Fandos (@npfandos) September 10, 2019
More Romney: “John Bolton is a brilliant man with decades of experience in foreign policy. His point of view was not always the same everybody else in the room. That’s why you wanted him there. The fact that he was a contrarian from time to time was an asset, not a liability.”
— Nicholas Fandos (@npfandos) September 10, 2019
This is terrible for the White House. Bolton was correct about the Taliban; State wasn’t. Bolton has been a hawkish voice for a tough national security policy, and his ouster likely signals that Trump’s approach will be significantly softer from this point forward. https://t.co/g13Shw46eW
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) September 10, 2019
President Trump has taken action by firing John Bolton and has vowed to take on big tech censorship.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a speech today, which he unexpectedly delayed by an hour, where he announced that he plans to annex a third of the West Bank after the Israeli election.
BREAKING: Netanyahu says he intends to annex Jordan Valley in West Bank after Israeli electionhttps://t.co/2TcJSoqJPo
— Haaretz.com (@haaretzcom) September 10, 2019
He was hoping Trump would sign off on the annexation but that never came.
A Trump administration official instead said Tuesday after Netanyahu’s speech that, “There is no change in the United States policy at this time.”
The @WhiteHouse responded Tuesday to Prime Minister @netanyahu's announcement that he will apply #Israeli sovereignty in the #JordanValley, saying, ""There is no change in the #UnitedStates policy at this time"https://t.co/wIMLr3GRtM
— The Jerusalem Post (@Jerusalem_Post) September 10, 2019
And there you have it. Bibi couldn't get Trump on board to back his annexation bid. One pre-election gift that will remain on his wish list, at least for now. https://t.co/IIPLGpRN5r
— (((Yair Rosenberg))) (@Yair_Rosenberg) September 10, 2019
Instead, Pompeo announced that Trump wants to meet Iranian president Rouhani with “no preconditions.”
Hours after Netanyahu urges pressure on Iran, Trump says he has 'no problem' meeting Rohani https://t.co/GTHNifrLpC
— Haaretz.com (@haaretzcom) September 9, 2019
Tablet Magazine’s Yair Rosenberg described the news as a “nightmare” for Netanyahu “just 7 days before Israel’s elections.”
Trump's secretary of state announces Trump wants to meet Iranian president Rouhani without preconditions as a prelude to negotiating a new Iran deal.
This comes just 7 days before Israel's elections and is a nightmare for Netanyahu, who has touted his ties to Trump all campaign. https://t.co/0oT2tP8XOx
— (((Yair Rosenberg))) (@Yair_Rosenberg) September 10, 2019
Incidentally, Netanyahu was also whisked offstage Tuesday night as air sirens were blaring after two rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu, 'Mr. Security,' taken off stage at campaign rally following Gaza rocket attackhttps://t.co/gcTHPFCxV1 pic.twitter.com/qSGkYvEwOQ
— Haaretz.com (@haaretzcom) September 10, 2019
The final straw for Trump to fire Bolton was reportedly Bolton sabotaging peace talks with the Taliban (Trump was reportedly also angry Bolton sabotaged peace talks with North Korea).
From The New York Times:
Their differences came to a climax in recent days as Mr. Bolton waged a last-minute campaign to stop the president from signing a peace agreement at Camp David with leaders of the radical Taliban group. He won the policy battle as Mr. Trump scrapped the deal but lost the larger war when the president grew angry about the way the matter played out.
Mr. Trump and his aides privately blamed the national security adviser for news reports describing Mr. Bolton’s opposition to the deal. Vice President Mike Pence and his camp likewise grew angry at reports suggesting he had agreed with Mr. Bolton, seeing them as an effort to bolster the adviser’s position.
I’m not going to get my hopes up that Trump is turning a page until we actually see some concrete results as the parasites around him always seem to find a way to thwart his better instincts but these are certainly encouraging developments.
If Trump could actually go through with much of the pro-peace, anti-war agenda he ran on it would be a major victory.
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