Kudos to President Trump for appointing John Bolton as his new National Security Advisor. It is a sign to the world that America will stand by her friends and against her enemies. It also is a signal to Washington that President Trump is serious about putting America first.
There is no greater invitation to war than the projection of weakness or lack of resolve. (See Korea, 1950.)
John Bolton stood by President Trump during the election. Bolton campaigned for him relentlessly, and was a steady and reliable surrogate. He was able to do that effectively because he and President Trump have a similar approach to securing America’s place in the world.
Praising Bolton should not be construed as equivalent in any way to criticizing General H.R. McMaster. To the contrary, McMaster has served the President well, and has continued to serve the country well, as he has done throughout his entire career.
President Trump and John Bolton: America First
Bolton shares President Trump’s worldview in many ways. He believes unapologetically that America is the best country on earth. He is bold in his defense of American interests. (Full disclosure: I am personally acquainted with Ambassador Bolton. I respect him, and like him, and consider him a friend.)
Bolton’s strong opinions bring him criticism from elites, but make him popular among most Americans. They also are the reason Trump trusts his judgment. One of the better known examples is his jaded attitude toward the United Nations.
“Everybody pursues their national interests. The only one who gets blamed for it is the United States…. My priority is to give the United States the kind of influence it should have.”
He famously said, “There’s no such thing as the United Nations. If the U.N. building in New York lost 10 stories, it wouldn’t make a bit of difference.” In fairness to the UN, however, he said nearly the same thing about most government agencies in Washington. “Well, you could take several stories off the buildings of most U.S. government agencies and we’d all probably be better for it too.”
Ambassador Bolton’s point was not to pretend that the UN doesn’t exist, he was emphasizing the importance of the sovereignty of individual nation-states. There is no world government with legislative powers, making international laws that nation-states must obey. There are only nation-states with power to act in their interests.
These countries, who are UN members, act collectively when it is in their interests to do so. Bolton never forgets that the duty of the American government is to act in the interest of the American people. That puts him squarely in the same school of thought as President Trump.
“Everybody pursues their national interests. The only one who gets blamed for it is the United States…. My priority is to give the United States the kind of influence it should have.”
Clear Signal to America’s Enemies
President Trump’s appointment of Bolton sends a strong signal to American enemies. It signals the end of the disastrous Iranian nuclear deal signed by President (in a constitutionally dubious process). It tells the mullahs just as strongly that America will not tolerate Iranian attempts to develop nuclear weapons.
President Trump and Ambassador Bolton express what most Americans know instinctively. No piece of paper will prevent a dishonest regime from threatening American security. Only firm American resolve will accomplish that.
The same message applies to North Korea, and to China’s use of North Korea to cloak its attempted hegemony in the South China Sea and beyond. Only Ambassador Bolton matches President Trump’s resolve to confront China and denuclearize the Korean peninsula. Other policy makers have spent years wringing their hands at North Korea cheating, with barely covert support from China and Russia.
Only the Trump Administration has enforced sanctions effectively enough to bring Pyongyang to heel. John Bolton is the perfect complement to Trump’s tough approach. The clarity of his position on denuclearization is unrivalled in Washington, much to the dismay of Georgetown’s salons and the embassy cocktail circuit. But it will be read clearly in Pyongyang.
There is no greater deterrent to Putin’s adventurism than the presence of an old Cold Warrior like Bolton at the side of the American President. Bolton’s presence alone is sufficient to quell doubts about Trump’s intention to defend America from Russian aggression. He was as quick to condemn the horrible nerve gas poisoning of a Russian defector this month as he was to condemn Russia’s occupation of Crimea, Ukraine, and Georgia.
Clear American Leadership in Europe
There will be no doubt in European capitals about American policy toward Russia in Eastern and Central Europe. NATO will be reinvigorated as a true deterrent, and German ambitions for a European Army will be shelved, when Europe sees clear American leadership. European leaders who have flirted with the corrupting influence of Russian agents will have to choose a side.
There is no greater invitation to war than the projection of weakness or lack of resolve. (See Korea, 1950.) Clarity is the essence of effective diplomacy. President Trump’s choice of John Bolton is a clear signal that American leadership is back, and that America will act in American interests.
