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Exclusive: John Bolton hits Trump for bluffing on North Korea nukes
Jonathan Swan
33 mins ago
Exclusive: John Bolton hits Trump for bluffing on North Korea nukes
In his sharpest criticism yet of his old workplace, John Bolton suggested the Trump administration is bluffing about stopping North Korea's nuclear ambitions — and soon might need to admit publicly that its policy failed badly.
Driving the news: Bolton told me in an interview that he does not think the administration "really means it" when President Trump and top officials vow to stop North Korea from having deliverable nuclear weapons — "or it would be pursuing a different course."
Why now? The president's former national security adviser, who served until September, is speaking out ahead of an end-of-year timetable. If Kim Jong-un follows through on his threatened Christmas provocation, Bolton says the White House should do something "that would be very unusual" for this administration: admit they got it wrong on North Korea.
"The idea that we are somehow exerting maximum pressure on North Korea is just unfortunately not true," Bolton said.
For example, he said, the U.S. Navy could start intercepting oil that is illegally being transferred to North Korea at sea.
As Bolton sees it, the administration now has more of a "rhetorical policy" that it's unacceptable for North Korea to have nuclear weapons that could hit America or its allies.
If Kim thumbs his nose at the U.S., Bolton said, he hopes the administration will say: "We've tried. The policy's failed. We're going to go back now and make it clear that in a variety of steps, together with our allies, when we say it's unacceptable, we're going to demonstrate we will not accept it."
Bolton described his concerns about Trump's North Korea strategy in an interview with Axios late last week. He went significantly further than any of his previous remarks since leaving the administration.
For example, he said, the U.S. Navy could start intercepting oil that is illegally being transferred to North Korea at sea.
As Bolton sees it, the administration now has more of a "rhetorical policy" that it's unacceptable for North Korea to have nuclear weapons that could hit America or its allies.
If Kim thumbs his nose at the U.S., Bolton said, he hopes the administration will say: "We've tried. The policy's failed. We're going to go back now and make it clear that in a variety of steps, together with our allies, when we say it's unacceptable, we're going to demonstrate we will not accept it."
Bolton described his concerns about Trump's North Korea strategy in an interview with Axios late last week. He went significantly further than any of his previous remarks since leaving the administration.
Why it matters: Kim is back on his white horse, and the North Korean nuclear threat may be greater than ever, analysts say.
more...
https://www.axios.com/bolton-john-trump-north-korea-missiles-94088bf9-4d2d-4d10-bfd9-80db7bc36a50.html
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Last edited Mon Dec 23, 2019, 04:01 PM - Edit history (8)
