(Newswire.net — September 13, 2019) — The sudden dismissal of John Bolton, US National Security Advisor to President Donald Trump, can be interpreted as a consequence of their personal conflict, but also as a matter of rivalry between Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
What is more than certain now is the fact that the departure of John Bolton will have a strong influence on the positioning of US foreign policy in the future.
The British newspaper The Guardian has made a cross-section of countries toward which America’s political attitude could change course after Bolton’s dismissal.
These countries include Afghanistan, Venezuela, Iran, Russia and North Korea.
Bolton was known as a fierce opponent of a plan that predicted the remaining US troops would leave Afghanistan by the end of the year. Trump’s withdrawal from talks with the Taliban could have been interpreted as approaching Bolton’s views.
However, the move could also be interpreted as pressure from the defense community, which has previously expressed concern that the US president could leave Afghanistan to deal with terrorists without any plan that would involve protecting the legitimate Afghan government until the elections are held.
When it came to Venezuela, Councilor Bolton did not hesitate to advocate sending US troops there, as he believed that in this way Nicholas Maduro would be easily overthrown and that the Venezuelan army would turn against him.
That estimate later turned out to be too optimistic, after which John Bolton lost Trump’s confidence.
Pompeo, Bolton, and US Vice President Mike Pence advised Trump this summer to launch an attack on Iran after a U.S. drone was shot down, but Trump still retreated, fearing the consequences of a military confrontation.
Now that Bolton is no longer Trump’s national security adviser, it is likely that Trump will still meet with the Iranian president at the United Nations General Assembly later this month, as Secretary of State Pompeo has indicated.
Bolton was not capable of observing Russia outside the Cold War and was also known as an opponent of Putin’s policy, and now it is no exaggeration to expect Washington will open up to Moscow, especially in the context of France and Emanuel Macron’s role in encouraging dialogue on Ukraine.
Bolton’s animosity toward North Korea was on the rise during his tenure under the George W. Bush administration, and his commitment to a resolute North Korean dictatorship soon put him at odds with Trump, who despite severe opposition from his security adviser met with Kim.