After a tumultuous first year of entrenched resistance from Washington insiders and an Oval Office that leaks more sensitive information than it holds, President Trump has signaled he has had enough by appointing John Bolton as his new National Security Advisor.
Bolton is expected to launch a major shake-up at the National Security Council, Trump supporters hope to bring the removal of a significant number Obama administration holdovers.
If anyone is suited for the task, John Bolton is. Though they have some disagreements, he and Trump are on the same page when it comes to a more hawkish foreign policy. Like Trump, Bolton sees little worth in multilateral diplomacy when it comes to working with the European Union or the United Nations. Bolton has taken a tough stand on North Korea and Iran for years.
Targets of Bolton’s purge will surely include officials seen as disloyal to the President including Obama holdovers and those known to have leaked information from the White House.
Nadia Schadlow, the deputy national security advisor for strategy was first on his list to go. Schadlow is the author of the just released National Security Strategy, a surprisingly mainstream document that reaffirms what can only be called a middle of the road traditional U.S. foreign-policy positions. Targeted along with her was McMaster’s deputy, Ricky Waddell, whom also was asked to resign by Bolton immediately upon taking over.
Bolton’s longtime hard-line stance toward Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin has made some wonder how long it takes before he and Trump clash. Sources close to Bolton say that is big unknown, but he and Trump are close and leading multiple insiders to project that the two can work through the Russia question together.
This kind of house cleaning takes time as staffing changes on this level require patience during the security clearance process. As a result, Bolton will likely still have his current staff when the summit meeting between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un occurs in May.
During an interview with Fox Business last week, Bolton said that national security-related leaks are “completely unacceptable.” That comment came after briefing material for a phone call from Trump to Russian President Vladimir Putin were leaked earlier in the week. The leaked notes included instructions for Trump to not congratulate Putin for being re-elected.
Fox News host Martha MacCallum asked Bolton if Trump’s actions prompted the exit of former national security adviser H.R. McMaster’s exit. Bolton answered:
“I have no idea about any of that. I will say, when I read about the leak of the notes and the subject of the conversation, I was outraged by it. It’s completely unacceptable. You cannot conduct diplomacy … if some munchkin in the executive branch decided they are going to leak.”
McMaster, an Army lieutenant general, has requested to retire from the U.S. military effective this summer. He said he plans to leave public service following his retirement.
“I am thankful to President Donald J. Trump for the opportunity to serve him and our nation as national security advisor,” McMaster said in a statement.
“I am grateful for the friendship and support of the members of the National Security Council who worked together to provide the President with the best options to protect and advance our national interests.”
Bolton will face some immediate challenges that supporters believe he is more than up to. He will have to take the National Security Council staff back to square one and this at a time when many of them had finally gotten up to speed.
Hal Brand of Bloomberg writes:
“Internal conflict is sure to increase. So far, Trump’s foreign policy has been fairly decentralized. He has delegated significant authority to Cabinet-level departments and agencies. Powerful advisers such as Secretary of Defense James Mattis have arguably been just as influential as the president in shaping policy on issues from the counter-Islamic State campaign to the war in Afghanistan.”
These kind of changes and upheavals are par for the course in Washington. Top appointed officials, the President and his National Security Advisor, in particular, deserve to have a staff they trust.
Bolton is an infamously hard-charging bureaucratic operator, and it is no surprise that he has moved rapidly to clear away what the McMaster era left behind.
Bringing in a cohesive team of loyalists is the only path to having an administration that is more responsive to both the president’s and his direction. John Bolton should be able to clean up a contentious and messy process.
~ American Liberty Report
