Donald Trump sacks national security adviser John Bolton
National security adviser John Bolton goes after heated clashes with Donald Trump over policy.
Donald Trump has sacked his hard-line national security adviser John Bolton, saying he “disagreed strongly” with many of his ideas.
The move came after the two men clashed heatedly over peace talks with the Taliban, but Mr Bolton’s dismissal also reflects a growing list of policy differences with the president over Iran, North Korea, Russia and Venezuela.
“I informed John Bolton last night that his services are no longer needed at the White House,” Mr Trump tweeted. “I disagreed strongly with many of his suggestions, as did others in the Administration and therefore I asked John for his resignation, which was given to me this morning. I thank John very much for his service.”
The announcement caught many in the White House by surprise coming shortly before Mr Bolton was scheduled to appear at a press briefing.
But the two men appeared unable even to agree on the manner of Mr Bolton’s departure, with the 70-year-old former security adviser pushing back publicly against Mr Trump’s claim that he was sacked. He insisted instead that he had offered to resign voluntarily the previous evening.
“I offered to resign last night and President Trump said ‘Let’s talk about it tomorrow’,” Mr Bolton tweeted.
I informed John Bolton last night that his services are no longer needed at the White House. I disagreed strongly with many of his suggestions, as did others in the Administration, and therefore....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 10, 2019
....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
....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
Mr Bolton’s dismissal came after an argument with the president over Mr Trump’s decision last week to invite Taliban leaders to Camp David to try to conclude a negotiated peace deal that would have reduced US military involvement in the almost 18 year war.
Mr Bolton strongly opposed striking a deal with the Taliban, arguing that the president could reduce US troops numbers in that country without striking a deal with the group responsible for so many US troop deaths.
The fact that the president sought to meet with the Taliban on the eve of this week’s anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks was also said to have angered Mr Bolton.
In the end, the president cancelled the talks with the Taliban after a US soldier was killed in an attack in Afghanistan and he has now pronounced the peace deal with the Taliban as “dead.”
But the Afghan peace talks were only one area where the deal-making president was at odds with Mr Bolton, who is an unapologetic hawk on foreign policy and a proponent of a muscular global US military presence.
Mr Bolton, a former diplomat and political commentator who was appointed in April 2018, was unhappy with the president’s willingness to deal with the leaders of America’s enemies.
He was uncomfortable with Mr Trump’s decision to forge a relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. It was a relationship which Mr Bolton saw as achieving nothing given Pyongyang’s refusal to keep its promise on nuclear disarmament and its continued testing of short range missiles.
Mr Bolton, a Cold War-style hawk on Russia, was also unhappy with Mr Trump’s cordial relationship with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
Mr Bolton also disagreed with the president on key aspects of his Iran policy and had urged Mr Trump not to waver from exerting maximum pressure on Tehran.
Mr Bolton was said to have opposed Mr Trump’s stated willingness to hold talks with Iran’s president Hassan Rouhani to seek a negotiate solution to the impasse over Iran’s nuclear ambitions and the US sanctions regime.
Mr Bolton opposed the recent decision by Mr Trump to suddenly call off a limited military strike against Iran after having approved it earlier that same day in response to Iran’s downing of a US drone.
On Venezuela, Mr Trump was openly frustrated with Mr Bolton over the failure of US attempts to remove President Nicolas Maduro from power. Mr Trump is said to have blamed Mr Bolton for the current political stalemate in that country despite the strong US backing for Mr Maduro’s opponents.
In the end, all of these disagreements saw Mr Bolton increasingly sidelined during foreign policy debates inside the White House.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo admitted after Mr Bolton’s dismissal that “there were many times Ambassador Bolton and I disagreed. That’s to be sure.”
The dispute between Mr Trump and Mr Bolton over the Taliban peace talks was merely the straw that broke the camel’s back, triggering Mr Bolton’s dismissal.
The president says he will appoint a new national security adviser next week, his fourth, following the departures of previous incumbents Michael Flynn, HR McMaster and now Mr Bolton.
Cameron Stewart is also US Contributor for Sky News Australia
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