… Yes, another one. As has been stated by just about everyone else, the return of John Bolton to a position of influence is horrifying. As one who will have the President’s ear, he continually advocates for the most wantonly destructive acts, is immune to information that contradicts his bloodthirsty prejudices, and punishes those who disagree.
Very simply, Bolton will almost certainly steer us to war — with North Korea, Iran, both, or more.
The nomination — which does not require Senate confirmation — has drawn attention mainly for Bolton’s combative bureaucratic style and the hawkish views he has espoused in three Republican administrations and as a Fox News analyst. Among other ideas, Bolton has advocated overthrowing the Islamic government of Iran, bombing that country’s nuclear facilities, and (just last month) taking preemptive military action against North Korea.
But many foreign policy experts, including some who worked closely with him, argue that the more significant issue for Bolton’s new role may be his history as a consumer of intelligence that does not conform to his views, and the lengths to which he has sometimes gone to try to suppress analyses that he sees as wrong or misinformed.
Certainly this represents an about-face by Trump, who called the Iraq War “the single worst decision ever made”. Doubtless many of his voters — even in the GOP primary — believed that he would represent a departure from warmongering. But as the GOP has become the Party of Trump, with Bolton’s appointment, Trump has fully embraced more war as the default, mainstream GOP position since 9/11. GOP senators have offered only support of Bolton’s appointment, in spite of the bitter experience of Bolton’s failures, in massive death, chaos, and $5 trillion in costs.
But this is not 2003. I am reluctant to give up hope, because I cannot believe that the public has any appetite for war. We will have to pull an inside straight to avoid a catastrophic and unnecessary war in the next few months to two-and-a-half years. But politics is funny, and in the last year we’ve seen how public influence can be felt, even as the opposition is out of power. Power is always a negotiation.
We must refuse to consent to reckless wars, as so much of the public, press, and political establishment infamously did in 2003. Give Bolton/Trump absolutely no quarter, no credence, no rhetorical leeway whatsoever. They are lunatics and liars; we know what they are about, and where this is leading. To our Senators, Representatives, people in the press, anyone with a bully pulpit: Drag them, now, repeatedly. Do not give up. The anti-war movement must be on its toes, ready to deploy into the streets and use any avenue of influence it has. Start talking about war, now, on social media, with friends and family. We must inoculate ourselves and the public to the contagion of war fever that the administration will surely be spreading, and soon.
John Bolton supports proactively bombing Iran and conducting a first strike on North Korea without provocation. Appointing him to be Nat Sec Advisor is a grave danger to the American people and a clear message from @realDonaldTrump that he is gearing up for military conflict.
— Ed Markey (@SenMarkey) March 22, 2018
Politicians and their courtiers like war because they think it makes them sound like Big Strong Men (yes, generally men) and Very Serious People who are Writing History. It is also the most serious temptation for those in power to grab yet more. This is not new. We have to turn the incentive upside-down: To make it clear that the public is dead-set against stupid wars of choice; and that anyone supporting war will be publicly scorned and humiliated, and suffer electoral devastation.
Politicians are not brave; they’re not supposed to be. Make them fear us. Let’s use what power we have, while we can.
Has anyone noticed that Ed Markey’s a pretty darned good senator?
Ed Markey has been a courageous, outstanding, progressive leader for all of the 40 years I have been honored to call him friend.
This nightmare is a canonical example of wag-the-dog warfare.
Mr. Trump’s “base” eats this up, and that’s all Mr. Trump cares about.
This administration and the entire corrupt apparatus that supports, promotes, and enables it must be removed from power before it literally brings the world as we know it to an end.
If there are future generations after the forced departure of these criminals and tyrants, they will demand an explanation for how America let this happen. The Collaborators must be forced out along with the leaders.
These tyrants, despots, and simple venal demagogues must be dismissed, investigated, and prosecuted where appropriate. We still today pay the price for the refusal of a Democratic House to investigate and prosecute the war crimes of the George W. Bush administration. We still today pay the price for the choice of earlier generations to allow the pardons of the Iran-Contra debacle and the Nixon administration before that to suppress the hard evidence of just how bad those actors were.
There are otherwise good progressives and Democrats right here at BMG who literally cannot believe just how bad the administrations of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan actually were. That’s not their fault — it is the direct consequence of our national cowardice that led us to turn aside from putting in the public record the hard evidence and actual proof of the multitude of crimes and offenses that were perpetrated. We used empty phrases like “a time of healing” to assuage our collective denial, much as too many officials today use “thoughts and prayers” to hide from the obscenity of their refusal to outlaw weapons of mass murder.
When a nation of law allows its leaders to flaunt the law, we cease to be a nation of law.
We must find a way to avert this catastrophe. The light we see ahead of us is not the end of the tunnel, it is the headlight of an on-coming train.
1) Repeal the AUMF
Barbara Lee was the lone member of Congress to vote against this monstrosity back in 2001, recognizing it would create a permanent state of war and be abused by Presidents for decades to come. Conservative Republican Senator Mike Lee joined Bernie Sanders and many other Senators (including ours!) to repeal this bill. What was intended to give President Bush authority to fight the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan has morphed into a license to go to war anywhere at any time. Time to repeal it and force a President Trump to come back to Congress before he launches and strikes.
2) Launch Congressional Investigations
Democrats surrendered from their constitutional duty to investigate President Bush over the misleading at best and crimjbak at worse actions his administration took to sell us on the Iraq War. While the right wasted no time to exploit the Benghazi deaths to launch worthless attacks against Secretary Clinton, Democrats have done nothing to investigate the deaths of twice as many Americans in Niger. A theatre most Americans and most members of Congress were unaware Americans were operating in.
It is time to support Chris Murphy’s push to get a real investigation into our support of the authoritarian Saudi governments genocidal campaign in Yemen. The Arab Street laughs at us when we decry ISIL atrocities against religious and ethnic minorities or Assad’s barrel bombing of civilians when we support and fund the same actions with the Saudis. The Obama administration is not blameless for starting this misguided campaign, but the Trump administration is writing massive blank check Congress has the power and has to have the will to stop.
3) Be tough on Israel
For too long both parties have followed the AIPAC party line on Mideastern policy. There was a time and place when liberal Zionists existed and had real power. Like wheb Steve Grossman lead the group and an Israel Labour government was committed to peace in the 1990’s. Since the early 2000’s when they became the neoconservatives biggest cheerleaders they have essentially parroted the Likud line. It is time for Congressional Democrats to start demanding that our longest democratic ally in the Mideast starts acting like an ally and a democracy again. Or Uncle Sugar cuts off the gravy train. If the first President Bush could cut them off, so can a Democrat.
4) Stop Being Republican Lite
It is time for Democrats to stop trying to out hawk the Republicans or act defensively about security. Most Americans are war weary, many of them voted for Trump in the primary since he was closer to Ron Paul than Jeb Bush on overseas wars. This means admitting there are no American interests at stake in Syria and Iraq for instance. This means that we should not be taking a hard line against Iran, North Korea, or Assad. We can buy off the Iranians from building nukes with the existing deal and we can make a similar one to disarm North Korea. All Kim wants is a security guarantee from regime change. Let’s give it to him.
5) Stop Surrendering War Powers to the President
Both parties have continually done this and it is time for it to stop. Enforce the War Powers Act and pull out troops in every active theatre. No reason to stay in Afghanistan or Syria, no reason to keep fighting Islamist ghosts all over the world while dropping the ball to real geopolitical threats like Russian cyber terrorism or Chinese expansionism. Make the President in either party come to a Congress for permission before putting troops in the field. End the drone program. End extraordinary detention and rendition. Let’s restore the republic.
Oh and make the NSA Advisor a confirmable position. Flynn and Bolton are grossly unqualified and the former may have been compromised by foreign intelligence operatives. Trump lost this privilege for future presidencies. The NSA is too powerful of an agency for its head not to be subject to Senate confirmation.
The National Security Advisor is not the head of the National Security Agency, but rather one of many Assistants to the President in the Executive Office. It is a staff role that fits into the structure similarly to other senior counselors, which is why like such counselors the appointment is at the President’s sole discretion.
Fair enough, but we do not want extremists or foreign agents in the role, and it’s arguably more important to setting policy than the Chief of Staff, Press Secretary, or other Executive roles.