Breaking: McMaster Out, Bolton In

 

President Donald Trump has decided to remove Gen. H.R. McMaster as his National Security Adviser and replace him with Amb. John Bolton. He announced the move on Twitter:

Agree with the switch? Disagree? Let us know in the comments.

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  1. Kevin Schulte Member
    Kevin Schulte
    @KevinSchulte

    I am please to have Mr. Mustachio on the team. :)  

    • #1
  2. Phil Turmel Inactive
    Phil Turmel
    @PhilTurmel

    Delighted!  McMasters has always struck me as a bit too cold to Israel, and that worried me.

    • #2
  3. Postmodern Hoplite Coolidge
    Postmodern Hoplite
    @PostmodernHoplite

    I’m not surprised, but I am disappointed. Bolton is a fine man, and I do not mean to suggest any disrespect towards him.

    LTG McMaster’s Dereliction of Duty is one of the hardest-hitting and most well-documented analyses concerning the body of lies perpetuated by the Joint Chiefs of Staff on behalf of Lyndon Johnson in support of his ethically bankrupt Vietnam policy. I find it hard to believe that he would have allowed himself to become professionally or personally compromised as those surrounding Johnson, enabling his lies and deceit. My guess is that he likely tended to speak bluntly and directly to President Trump, and thus became unpopular in the White House.

    Maybe McMaster has become compromised by lying to, or on behalf of, the President. But I’ve seen no evidence for it. What I have seen (and what I disagree with) is his predisposition to favor engagement within the Realist model of International Relations, augmented by a strong Active Duty military establishment. However, this is not unexpected. McMaster reflects the standard doctrines favored by the institutional US Army since it’s professional ascendancy in the 1950’s, no surprise in a West Point educated General officer.

    • #3
  4. LeftCoastCon Inactive
    LeftCoastCon
    @LeftCoastCon

    Bolton is a bit of a surprising choice; he is a hardliner and was a supporter of the Iraq war etc. — neither of which really is consistent with Trump’s view of the world.  I respect Bolton’s insight but wonder whether he can be an effective team player — on the other hand, he may have just the right skills to join the scrum in the White House.

    • #4
  5. Postmodern Hoplite Coolidge
    Postmodern Hoplite
    @PostmodernHoplite

    [double post]

    • #5
  6. Kevin Schulte Member
    Kevin Schulte
    @KevinSchulte

    LeftCoastCon (View Comment):

    Bolton is a bit of a surprising choice; he is a hardliner and was a supporter of the Iraq war etc. — neither of which really is consistent with Trump’s view of the world. I respect Bolton’s insight but wonder whether he can be an effective team player — on the other hand, he may have just the right skills to join the scrum in the White House.

    Sends a message to the thugs of the world, ” I have an a-s kicking adviser to advise me. Now, what should we talk about ?”  

    • #6
  7. Postmodern Hoplite Coolidge
    Postmodern Hoplite
    @PostmodernHoplite

    DELETED – accidental double-tap of #3 above.

    • #7
  8. Fred Cole Inactive
    Fred Cole
    @FredCole

    This nice thing about John Bolton is that he’s never met a county he didn’t want to bomb. 

    No wait.  That’s not good. It’s horrifying.

     

    • #8
  9. James Gawron Inactive
    James Gawron
    @JamesGawron

    EDs,

    Wow!

    First, I want to say that General McMaster is a very capable man and a man of integrity. I’m sure he has a long career ahead of him in a position that will probably match his strong talents more precisely. Second, I think John Bolton is the perfect man for NSA and the perfect man to work in concert with President Trump. I look forward to the results.

    One more thing.

    Regards,

    Jim

    • #9
  10. Valiuth Member
    Valiuth
    @Valiuth

    Well I think as with all things Trump we will have to wait and see. I think about half the job here is being able to get along with Trump himself. My feeling looking at it from the outside was that McMasters didn’t really gel with Trump very well. 

    But Bolton is a tough guy (some think too tough or at least too hawkish) and especially on Russia, so hopefully he can keep Trump’s bad Putinphilic instincts in check. 

    • #10
  11. Midget Faded Rattlesnake Member
    Midget Faded Rattlesnake
    @Midge

    At the very least, let’s all bask in the glow of Bolton’s optional accessory –

    • #11
  12. iWe Coolidge
    iWe
    @iWe

    I am thrilled.

    To be effective, we need to have the courage to promote the ideals of America around the world, including by force as necessary to defend our core interests. John Bolton is a superb choice, and Trump’s foreign policy has moved another notch higher in my estimation.

    Now, if they would only take up my suggestion of paying private companies to drop millions of care packages comprising food and pistols across North Korea and Iran…

    • #12
  13. Fred Cole Inactive
    Fred Cole
    @FredCole

    Can anyone name anything that John Bolton’s been right about in the last 20 years?

    • #13
  14. Z in MT Member
    Z in MT
    @ZinMT

    Fred Cole (View Comment):

    Can anyone name anything that John Bolton’s been right about in the last 20 years?

    “There’s no such thing as the United Nations. If the U.N. secretary building in New York lost 10 stories, it wouldn’t make a bit of difference.”

    John Bolton
    Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/john_bolton_169120

    • #14
  15. James Gawron Inactive
    James Gawron
    @JamesGawron

    Valiuth (View Comment):

    Well I think as with all things Trump we will have to wait and see. I think about half the job here is being able to get along with Trump himself. My feeling looking at it from the outside was that McMasters didn’t really gel with Trump very well.

    But Bolton is a tough guy (some think too tough or at least too hawkish) and especially on Russia, so hopefully he can keep Trump’s bad Putinphilic instincts in check.

    Val,

    You say Putinaphilic, I say Putinaphobic…

    https://youtu.be/zZ3fjQa5Hls

    Regards,

    Jim

    • #15
  16. Hoyacon Member
    Hoyacon
    @Hoyacon

    Fred Cole (View Comment):

    Can anyone name anything that John Bolton’s been right about in the last 20 years?

    No.  But if you list some things that he’s been wrong about, we can discuss.

     

    • #16
  17. Hoyacon Member
    Hoyacon
    @Hoyacon

    So will McMaster beat Tillerson to the bookstores?  Comey’s way out front now.

    • #17
  18. Gumby Mark Coolidge
    Gumby Mark
    @GumbyMark

    Bad appointment.  Bolton would have been good as personnel director at the State Department, but not as policy guy who is in charge of channeling flow of information on national security for the president.  When all you have is a hammer everything looks like a nail – that’s Bolton.  I wonder what war he’s looking to get us into now?  Seems a puzzling appointment for a president who condemned the invasion of Iraq.

    • #18
  19. James Lileks Contributor
    James Lileks
    @jameslileks

    Fred Cole (View Comment):
    Can anyone name anything that John Bolton’s been right about in the last 20 years?

    The necessity of regime change in Iran comes to mind.

    • #19
  20. Hoyacon Member
    Hoyacon
    @Hoyacon

    Gumby Mark (View Comment):

    Bad appointment. Bolton would have been good as personnel director at the State Department, but not as policy guy who is in charge of channeling flow of information on national security for the president. When all you have is a hammer everything looks like a nail – that’s Bolton. I wonder what war he’s looking to get us into now? Seems a puzzling appointment for a president who condemned the invasion of Iraq.

    Well, for better or worse, he’s very down on N. Korea.  That’s probably lurking in the background here.

     

    • #20
  21. I Walton Member
    I Walton
    @IWalton

    The job is a killer and requires exceedingly high physical and mental energy.   Bolton will be 70 this year.  He knows the apparatus, the institutions and has a following in his own right and strong views which should enable him to be his own man even as he will be surrounded by powerful personalities.  

    • #21
  22. Hoyacon Member
    Hoyacon
    @Hoyacon

    [Deleted by author]

     

    • #22
  23. Fred Cole Inactive
    Fred Cole
    @FredCole

    James Lileks (View Comment):

    Fred Cole (View Comment):
    Can anyone name anything that John Bolton’s been right about in the last 20 years?

    The necessity of regime change in Iran comes to mind.

    He also supported regime change in Iraq and Libya. How’d that work out?

    • #23
  24. RightAngles Member
    RightAngles
    @RightAngles

    Hoyacon (View Comment):

    So will McMaster beat Tillerson to the bookstores? Comey’s way out front now.

    HR McMaster isn’t like that.

    • #24
  25. Unsk Member
    Unsk
    @Unsk

    Mc Masters and Tillerson never bought into Trump’s policies. End of story. 

    You do not sign on to be the Head of the NSA or the State Dept and then try to undermine your President.  All this talk of Mc Masters being a man of integrity is full of crap.  He is not.  Both he and Tillerson wanted to keep the traitorous Iran deal and worked tirelessly to do so, against Trump’s wishes, knowing full well what Trump wanted from the very beginning.   That is just unacceptable. Who elected them?

    Bolton may upset the squishes but that is probably a good thing.  China, Russia, North Korea  and Iran are all developing significantly destabilizing weapons significantly increasing the probability  of war.  We need a man   who will tell the President the  truth at this dangerous moment in history. Bolton is that man.  There are not many in  Washington  who will do that with his knowledge. 

     

    • #25
  26. Hoyacon Member
    Hoyacon
    @Hoyacon

    RightAngles (View Comment):

    Hoyacon (View Comment):

    So will McMaster beat Tillerson to the bookstores? Comey’s way out front now.

    HR McMaster isn’t like that.

    My cynicism was showing.   Thanks for setting things straight.

     

    • #26
  27. RightAngles Member
    RightAngles
    @RightAngles

    Hoyacon (View Comment):

    RightAngles (View Comment):

    Hoyacon (View Comment):

    So will McMaster beat Tillerson to the bookstores? Comey’s way out front now.

    HR McMaster isn’t like that.

    My cynicism was showing. Thanks for setting things straight.

     

    Sorry, he’s my cousin haha. McMaster is my daughter’s middle name and my mother’s maiden name.

    • #27
  28. RightAngles Member
    RightAngles
    @RightAngles

    Unsk (View Comment):

    … All this talk of Mc Masters being a man of integrity is full of crap. 

    Actually it is not. And it’s McMaster, not McMasters.

    • #28
  29. DrewInWisconsin Member
    DrewInWisconsin
    @DrewInWisconsin

    • #29
  30. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    Unsk (View Comment):
    All this talk of Mc Masters being a man of integrity is full of crap. He is not. Both he and Tillerson wanted to keep the traitorous Iran deal and worked tirelessly to do so, against Trump’s wishes, knowing full well what Trump wanted from the very beginning.

    It is perfectly possible to realize that the Iran deal is fundamentally flawed, but that as it is now a fait accompli, we are just going to have to deal with it. The sanctions are gone, and given the utterly feckless nature of our “allies,” they aren’t coming back. If that was McMaster’s position, then all he is guilty of is living in the real world.

    • #30
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