Trump ousts McMaster, taps super-hawk Bolton as national security adviser

[webfact]

Trump ousts McMaster, taps super-hawk Bolton as national security adviser

By Steve Holland

 

FILE PHOTO: National security adviser Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster waits to be introduced at the FDD National Security Summit in Washington, DC, U.S., October 19, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File Photo

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump shook up his foreign policy team again on Thursday, replacing H.R. McMaster as national security adviser with John Bolton, a hawk who has advocated using military force against North Korea and Iran.

 

The move, announced in a tweet, came little more than a week after the firing by Trump of Rex Tillerson as secretary of state. Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo was nominated to replace him.

 

The shake-up means Trump is bringing in top advisers more likely to agree with his views, with a prospective summit meeting approaching between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. That is supposed to happen by the end of May.

 

McMaster, hired early in Trump's presidency to replace scandal-tarred Michael Flynn as national security adviser, had been widely expected to leave soon.

 

Trump found McMaster's style grating and had been looking for a replacement, advisers said.

 

The White House said Trump and McMaster had "mutually agreed" that he would leave.

 

"I am very thankful for the service of General H.R. McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend," Trump's tweet said.

 

The announcement came a day after Trump was angered by a leak of information from his presidential briefing papers that said he was advised specifically not to congratulate Russian President Vladimir Putin on his disputed re-election.

 

"The two have been discussing this for some time. The timeline was expedited as they both felt it was important to have the new team in place, instead of constant speculation. This was not related to any one moment or incident, rather it was the result of ongoing conversations between the two," a senior White House official said.

 

McMaster, 55, is to stay on until mid-April. He said in a statement he was also requesting retirement from the U.S. Army, in which he holds the rank of three-star general.

 

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly had been hoping to entice McMaster into another military assignment in order to qualify as a four-star general.

 

'FASTEN YOUR SEAT BELTS'

 

The hiring of Bolton, 69, which does not require U.S. Senate confirmation, came despite concerns by some foreign policy analysts that the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations might use his position to pursue his own global views, rather than carry out Trump's.

 

“Bolton has long been an advocate for pre-emptive military action against North Korea, and his appointment as National Security Adviser is a strong signal that President Trump remains open to these options," said Abraham Denmark, deputy assistant secretary of defence for East Asia under former President Barack Obama.

 

"We should also expect an even more confrontational approach to China - a trade war may just be the beginning of a broader geopolitical competition,” he said.

 

The announcement was made shortly after Bolton and Trump met in the Oval Office.

 

As the State Department's top arms control official under President George W. Bush, Bolton was a leading advocate of the 2003 invasion of Iraq - which was later found to have been based on bogus and exaggerated intelligence about President Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction and ties to terrorism.

 

In recent years, as a conservative media commentator, Bolton has advocated hardline positions on stopping Pyongyang from getting nuclear weapons that could threaten the United States. He has also advocated getting rid of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, a pact Trump has also heavily criticized.

 

“Bolton has long supported regime change in North Korea and closer ties with Taiwan. Fasten your seat belts,” said Bonnie Glaser, Asia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.

 

(Reporting by Steve Holland; Additional reporting by by Warren Strobel, Yara Bayoumy and David Brunnstrom; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Peter Cooney)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-03-23

[simple1]

Trump getting rid of his Roman whisperers  - big mistake.

[Samui Bodoh]

This is a terrifying bit of news.

 

The National Security Adviser is supposed to be a person of consensus who listens to the various security-focused departments in the government and melds it all into a joint view representing many. Bolton is very well-known as a person who only listens to himself.

 

In other words, Trump, who thinks he knows everything, will now be advised by another person who thinks he knows everything.

 

Scary, scary times...

[sirmud63]

the dumbing down of america is almost complete.

[mfd101]

It's like Brexit. You have to look on the bright side of life, concentrating on all the opportunities - as well as challenges - that discontinuity provides. Helps to keep the braincells from drowning.

[Scott]

Troll post removed. 

[Guest]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

“Bolton has long been an advocate for pre-emptive military action against North Korea, and his appointment as National Security Adviser is a strong signal that President Trump remains open to these options,"

The war plan for the future.

 

1) Start a nuclear war with North Korea. Let the military finally use the fusion bombs in real action

2) One the nuclear option has been already used, it's easy to do the same with Iran.

3) Now both China and Russia are very, very angry. It's time for the final countdown.

4) Death by nuclear winter

5) The mudskipper emerges from the sea and learns to breath air... new round of life is a go.

Edited March 23, 2018 by Guest
Added photo of mudskipper as mudskipper are always cool!

[Guest]

Here is a good twitter thread about how nuts Bolton really is. Scary stuff.

 

"THREAD: With the news that John Bolton will become National Security Advisor on 4/9, are his views on North Korea really so bad? A close look shows he’s genuinely one of the most extreme, irresponsible, and dangerous voices in the country."

 

 

 

[Emster23]

The asylum takeover is almost complete. All we need to add is Hannity

[selftaopath]

2 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

This is a terrifying bit of news.

 

The National Security Adviser is supposed to be a person of consensus who listens to the various security-focused departments in the government and melds it all into a joint view representing many. Bolton is very well-known as a person who only listens to himself.

 

In other words, Trump, who thinks he knows everything, will now be advised by another person who thinks he knows everything.

 

Scary, scary times...

Serious discussion to change the electoral college method of U.S. elections is vastly overdue. Without this we would have a President elected by registered votes. 

 

After war begins the soon to be dictator can move his agenda closer to declaring a national emergency and suggesting elections be delayed. He has already "thrown out" that a President for life might be in U.S.' future. He means himself. Ok I expect opposite views to suggest I am not in touch w/ reality. lol lol We'll see.

Edited March 23, 2018 by selftaopath
Decided to add a 2nd thought.

[Scott]

A post violating Fair Use Policy has been removed.  

[Boon Mee]

Excellent move as McMaster was too much a "Globalist" 

Bolton will be a stronger figure. 

[Tug]

Bad news indeed

[spidermike007]

This has got to be the most chaotic, least organized, and most incompetent leader, and administration in recent history. Every day brings more chaos. Little Don cannot help but shoot himself in the foot daily. The little bit of talent that the administration had, is leaving in droves. They are fleeing the most radioactive man in America. Now he appoints John Bolton? This man is not qualified to lead the boy scout chapter of Indianapolis. He should be kept as far away from foreign policy decisions as possible, with his hateful and toxic views. I give him 90 days, before he is dismissed. 

 

Tiny DT. The art of moving America backwards, and lowering the quality of life for the average American. 

The art of I cannot make a deal to save my life. 

The art of losing talent in droves, and replacing them with sycophantic fools, devoid of talent or experience. Like The appointment of Lynne Patton, a wedding planner and longtime Trump family associate, to head the Housing and Urban Development's office for New York and New Jersey, and the talk show host that he just appointed as a chief economic advisor, because he talk smooth and looks good on TV. Good one Don. 

 

The art of not being able to fill vacancies, and leading a nation, without the help of key appointees. The Trump administration will usher in the second quarter of its presidential term with hundreds of vacancies still left to fill in departments throughout the administration. According to the Washington Post and Partnership for Public Service, only 241 key positions requiring Senate confirmation — out of 633 — have been confirmed as of Jan. 18, with 244 positions still without a nominee. The 633 key positions are a small portion of over 1,200 total positions requiring Senate confirmation, the Post noted. Trump’s sluggish staffing stands in stark contrast to his predecessors. According to the Post, Trump had 301 total confirmed nominees by Jan. 18, as compared with 452 confirmations by former President Barack Obama, 493 by George W. Bush and 471 by Bill Clinton at the same point in their terms. 

[William T]

Well look on the bright side.

He probably wont be appearing on Fox News so much. Who will Hannity get to replace him?

[Jonnapat]

4 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

This is a terrifying bit of news.

 

The National Security Adviser is supposed to be a person of consensus who listens to the various security-focused departments in the government and melds it all into a joint view representing many. Bolton is very well-known as a person who only listens to himself.

 

In other words, Trump, who thinks he knows everything, will now be advised by another person who thinks he knows everything.

 

Scary, scary times...

Scary indeed. Bolton has shown in past positions how extremely dangerous he can be. A truly nasty type and everyone can feel less secure with him back in government. A disaster when he was US ambassador to the UN.

[farcanell]

Yep... micheal Bolton has always given me the creeps, too. ?

[downtowneddie]

I think that a lot of the fears voiced about Trump previously were exaggerated.  But this is genuinely scary. Compared to Bolton, Trump is relatively rational.

[simple1]

One of Bolton's current roles is Chairman of the Gatestone Institute - <deleted>

[heybruce]

" As the State Department's top arms control official under President George W. Bush, Bolton was a leading advocate of the 2003 invasion of Iraq - which was later found to have been based on bogus and exaggerated intelligence about President Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction and ties to terrorism. "

 

Trump has flip-flopped on this issue, but during the campaign he insisted he was against the Iraq war and ridiculed the intelligence agencies for the bad intelligence that led to it.  Now he has hired a leading advocate for the war and the arms control officer that was promoting the bad intelligence.

 

Yesterday I was concerned that Trump's talks with Kim would lead to selling out US allies in Asia.  Now I'm concerned it will lead to war.

[selftaopath]

1 hour ago, spidermike007 said:

This has got to be the most chaotic, least organized, and most incompetent leader, and administration in recent history. Every day brings more chaos. Little Don cannot help but shoot himself in the foot daily. The little bit of talent that the administration had, is leaving in droves. They are fleeing the most radioactive man in America. Now he appoints John Bolton? This man is not qualified to lead the boy scout chapter of Indianapolis. He should be kept as far away from foreign policy decisions as possible, with his hateful and toxic views. I give him 90 days, before he is dismissed. 

 

Tiny DT. The art of moving America backwards, and lowering the quality of life for the average American. 

The art of I cannot make a deal to save my life. 

The art of losing talent in droves, and replacing them with sycophantic fools, devoid of talent or experience. Like The appointment of Lynne Patton, a wedding planner and longtime Trump family associate, to head the Housing and Urban Development's office for New York and New Jersey, and the talk show host that he just appointed as a chief economic advisor, because he talk smooth and looks good on TV. Good one Don. 

 

The art of not being able to fill vacancies, and leading a nation, without the help of key appointees. The Trump administration will usher in the second quarter of its presidential term with hundreds of vacancies still left to fill in departments throughout the administration. According to the Washington Post and Partnership for Public Service, only 241 key positions requiring Senate confirmation — out of 633 — have been confirmed as of Jan. 18, with 244 positions still without a nominee. The 633 key positions are a small portion of over 1,200 total positions requiring Senate confirmation, the Post noted. Trump’s sluggish staffing stands in stark contrast to his predecessors. According to the Post, Trump had 301 total confirmed nominees by Jan. 18, as compared with 452 confirmations by former President Barack Obama, 493 by George W. Bush and 471 by Bill Clinton at the same point in their terms. 

Granted. However many and IMO view this degenerate to be interested in America's well being. LOL That is the last thing this societal misfit cares a/b. He doesn't care to have America function adequately. Anyway he can diminish rule of law/democracy aids his bid for complete rule. He is in this current position to emails more wealth/power/control. That's all he wants; America/democracy be damned. Part of the take over formula is a submissive Republican Congress. He certainly has that. Soon they will continue their "non action" against this imposter including the day when he neuters the Russian investigation. We'll hear words like unheard of/unprecedented/shocking/un American/shocking etc. But will there be ACTION? LOL not by Republicans. 

 

I have never been more please to be an X pat. My country, that I spent 4 years in the U.S. military, is so far declined that I can barely recognize it. 

 

[spidermike007]

14 minutes ago, selftaopath said:

Granted. However many and IMO view this degenerate to be interested in America's well being. LOL That is the last thing this societal misfit cares a/b. He doesn't care to have America function adequately. Anyway he can diminish rule of law/democracy aids his bid for complete rule. He is in this current position to emails more wealth/power/control. That's all he wants; America/democracy be damned. Part of the take over formula is a submissive Republican Congress. He certainly has that. Soon they will continue their "non action" against this imposter including the day when he neuters the Russian investigation. We'll hear words like unheard of/unprecedented/shocking/un American/shocking etc. But will there be ACTION? LOL not by Republicans. 

 

I have never been more please to be an X pat. My country, that I spent 4 years in the U.S. military, is so far declined that I can barely recognize it. 

 

If you want to understand the mentality of Tiny Don, it is best to see him as the host of the Tiny Don Show. He is the host. He spends most of his energy promoting himself, and then devotes a few hours a day to the presidency. It is all about Don. 

 

The art of attempting to lead a nation, while being infected with the thinnest skin of a world leader, in history. 

The art of not having a diplomatic bone in his body, and destroying long held alliances, with hate, hubris and a horrible lack of intelligence, vision and talent.

 

I really do believe either the Nitwit in Chief will continue his errant, offensive, heinous, nasty, callous, inconsiderate, condescending, indecent, horrifically stupid behavior, and get himself ousted by his own party. And if not, he and his party will be slaughtered in November, and once the Dems take over the house and the senate he will be a weak lame duck (he is already very, very weak and ineffective, he just does not know it!), and will be held to a higher standard, that of a diplomat and representative of the nation, and not a host of the Tiny Don Show. He is making enemies on an hourly basis, and cannot help himself. Hatred and venom is what this circus clown does best.

 

So either way it is a win, win for the American people, and the world. That is, if he Dems can come up with a platform, and figure out what they represent. I do think Tiny Don has reenergized the democratic party. The voters will show up in massive numbers in November, and it will be a bloodbath for the GOP. Looking forward to that. 

 

 

[selftaopath]

47 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

If you want to understand the mentality of Tiny Don, it is best to see him as the host of the Tiny Don Show. He is the host. He spends most of his energy promoting himself, and then devotes a few hours a day to the presidency. It is all about Don. 

 

The art of attempting to lead a nation, while being infected with the thinnest skin of a world leader, in history. 

The art of not having a diplomatic bone in his body, and destroying long held alliances, with hate, hubris and a horrible lack of intelligence, vision and talent.

 

I really do believe either the Nitwit in Chief will continue his errant, offensive, heinous, nasty, callous, inconsiderate, condescending, indecent, horrifically stupid behavior, and get himself ousted by his own party. And if not, he and his party will be slaughtered in November, and once the Dems take over the house and the senate he will be a weak lame duck (he is already very, very weak and ineffective, he just does not know it!), and will be held to a higher standard, that of a diplomat and representative of the nation, and not a host of the Tiny Don Show. He is making enemies on an hourly basis, and cannot help himself. Hatred and venom is what this circus clown does best.

 

So either way it is a win, win for the American people, and the world. That is, if he Dems can come up with a platform, and figure out what they represent. I do think Tiny Don has reenergized the democratic party. The voters will show up in massive numbers in November, and it will be a bloodbath for the GOP. Looking forward to that. 

 

 

I wonder if Tiny Don is recognized as the most hated man in the world yet?  I'd love to see that on a Time Magazine cover. I have long held he will reach that level of disdain. 

[Jingthing]

2 hours ago, downtowneddie said:

I think that a lot of the fears voiced about Trump previously were exaggerated.  But this is genuinely scary. Compared to Bolton, Trump is relatively rational.

No they weren't.

[downtowneddie]

1 minute ago, Jingthing said:

No they weren't.

Well, at the time they seemed to me to be exaggerated. But looking back on it, I guess not. Most of the credit for Trump not actually doing anything dangerous or foolhardy goes to the people who were restraining him. Now, they're mostly gone.

[Boon Mee]

What's the big deal? 

Obama called Putin to congratulate him on his earlier reelection so the criticism that Trump followed suit is nothing but ripe hypocrisy. 

[Becker]

30 minutes ago, downtowneddie said:

Well, at the time they seemed to me to be exaggerated. But looking back on it, I guess not. Most of the credit for Trump not actually doing anything dangerous or foolhardy goes to the people who were restraining him. Now, they're mostly gone.

The grownups are mostly gone. What remains is something taken from The Lord of the Flies. Scary times indeed.

[riclag]

3 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

This has got to be the most chaotic, least organized, and most incompetent leader, and administration in recent history. Every day brings more chaos. Little Don cannot help but shoot himself in the foot daily. The little bit of talent that the administration had, is leaving in droves. They are fleeing the most radioactive man in America. Now he appoints John Bolton? This man is not qualified to lead the boy scout chapter of Indianapolis. He should be kept as far away from foreign policy decisions as possible, with his hateful and toxic views. I give him 90 days, before he is dismissed. 

 

Tiny DT. The art of moving America backwards, and lowering the quality of life for the average American. 

The art of I cannot make a deal to save my life. 

The art of losing talent in droves, and replacing them with sycophantic fools, devoid of talent or experience. Like The appointment of Lynne Patton, a wedding planner and longtime Trump family associate, to head the Housing and Urban Development's office for New York and New Jersey, and the talk show host that he just appointed as a chief economic advisor, because he talk smooth and looks good on TV. Good one Don. 

 

The art of not being able to fill vacancies, and leading a nation, without the help of key appointees. The Trump administration will usher in the second quarter of its presidential term with hundreds of vacancies still left to fill in departments throughout the administration. According to the Washington Post and Partnership for Public Service, only 241 key positions requiring Senate confirmation — out of 633 — have been confirmed as of Jan. 18, with 244 positions still without a nominee. The 633 key positions are a small portion of over 1,200 total positions requiring Senate confirmation, the Post noted. Trump’s sluggish staffing stands in stark contrast to his predecessors. According to the Post, Trump had 301 total confirmed nominees by Jan. 18, as compared with 452 confirmations by former President Barack Obama, 493 by George W. Bush and 471 by Bill Clinton at the same point in their terms. 

spidermike007,Who should be the NSA? All of the left push back of this ridiculous Russian Hysteria narrative  that PT is to weak on Russia, have got their wish.

Edited March 23, 2018 by riclag

[Thakkar]

Tillerson: fired after speaking out strongly against Russia, and then replaced by Pompeo who falsely claimed that the intelligence agencies had concluded that Russian interference had not affected the election outcome (they had in fact made no conclusion one way or the other).

 

McMaster: fired after speaking out strongly against Russia, and then replaced by Bolton who has said on Fox that the Trump/Russia collusion allegations are all about democrats wanting “to prove that the Trump administration is illegitimate”

 

Comey: fired, by Trump’s own admission, “because of this Russia thing”

 

Also fired: McCabe, a potential witness who can corroborate Comey’s assertion that Trump May have tried to obstruct the Russia investigation.

 

Sure looks like a pattern.

[heybruce]

21 minutes ago, Boon Mee said:

What's the big deal? 

Obama called Putin to congratulate him on his earlier reelection so the criticism that Trump followed suit is nothing but ripe hypocrisy. 

Off topic, but at the time Obama called Putin, Russia was not accused of concerted, organized attempts to undermine US elections.  Obama's call also predated a few other events, such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine.