The president’s advisers are orchestrating policies that have quickly destabilized the world and jeopardized the security of the United States, says Colonel Ann Wright.
By Ann Wright
Special to Consortium News
For a person who claims to be a deal maker and business guru, President Donald Trump is getting rolled by John Bolton and Bolton’s long-standing regime change and war agenda, which run in opposition to what Trump may have envisioned when he appointed Bolton as his national security advisor.
For decades, Bolton has railed against Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Cuba and now Venezuela. He was a major voice for the disastrous invasions and occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq during the Bush One administration.
Now Bolton has become the voice of Trump on very important and dangerous issues. Bolton, not Trump, is seen more and more on international networks on issues of Iran, Cuba and Venezuela.
Bolton: Pushing war agenda. (Gage Skidmore via Flickr)
Most recently, Bolton preempted Trump on announcing that the U.S. was sending an aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf “to defend U.S. interests and its allies.” Trump might wish to double check Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s statements on the threat coming from Iran’s actions against interests of the U.S. and its allies. Special Envoy for Iran Brian Hooks on CNN on May 9 said that “the U.S. defensive actions of deploying an aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf area is for actions of Iran from 2009 to 2016.” When challenged by the CNN anchor, Becky Anderson, Hooks was unable to name any threats from Iran for the past three years from 2016-2019. Instead he repeated Bolton’s talking points for the day that there were “threats that U.S. must defend itself against.”
However, should the U.S. or its proxy Israel attack Iran, the U.S. installations in Iran’s region that Iran could target in retaliation are many:
-Twenty major U.S. military installations and a large U.S. embassy compound in neighboring Afghanistan;
Iran map with U.S. bases starred.
-The enormous Green Zone that contains the largest U.S. embassy complex in the world in neighboring Iraq;
-17 U.S. military installations in the northern part of neighboring Syria.
There are U.S. targets for Iran in every country along the Persian Gulf:
-the forward headquarters of the U.S. Central Command located in Qatar:
-homeport of the U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain;
-U.S. contractors and U.S. military personnel in Saudi Arabia;
-U.S. military installations in Djibouti, the UAE and Somalia.
Bolton, Pompeo and Trump should be reminded that various groups in the region have retaliated against U.S. policies in the past:
In April 1983, the U.S. embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, was blown up and 63 embassy staff were killed. Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah claimed responsibility.
President Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan at caskets for victims of U.S. embassy bombing in Beirut. (White House via Wikimedia Commons)
-In June 1996, 19 Americans were killed when the U.S. Air Force Khobar Towers barracks were blown up in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The U.S. government said Iran was responsible and Iran said that al-Qaeda was responsible. In 2006, a U.S. District Court held that Iran and Hezbollah were responsible although Iran had no representation at the trial.
– In 2000 the USS Cole was blown up in Aden, Yemen, with 17 U.S. sailors killed. Al Qaeda claimed responsibility.
Bolton was one of the advisers to President George W. Bush who orchestrated the lies about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq in 2002-2003 and the lies that Saddam Hussein’s army in Iraq had thrown babies out of their incubators during the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait that triggered Bush One to bomb Iraqi cities and send an armored force into Iraq in 1991 in Gulf War One.
Bolton and his gang demanded that President Bill Clinton impose land and air blockades on Iraq. The U.S. blockade caused over 500,000 Iraqi children to die and the 400,000 air strikes on Iraq in the next eight years targeted every important military installation. The events of Sept. 11, 2001, provided Bolton and his Neocon gang the opportunity to push President Bush Two to invade and occupy Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq two years later in 2003.
Please Make a Donation to Our
Spring Fundraising Drive Today!
Bolton is part of the swamp that I think Trump thought he was draining, yet Trump has allowed himself to be taken in by advisers who wanted Bolton, the swamp monster, into power again to wreak havoc on the world.
I resigned 16 years ago from the Bush W. administration in opposition to Bush’s war on Iraq. Tragically another administration led by the same swamp monsters are propelling the U.S. into an unnecessary and horrific military confrontation with Iran.
Trump probably does not know that Iran is a country of 80 million people that has withstood 40 years of sanctions from the U.S. after the Iranian revolution in 1979 and it has a military that has as much battle experience in Syria as the U.S.. Iran is a country that battled a U.S. sponsored war from Iraq from 1980-1988 and Trump probably doesn’t remember that Donald Rumsfeld handed chemical weapons to Saddam to use on Iran.Iran suffered over 1 million deaths from that war.
Sept. 11, 2001: Firefighters respond to attack on Pentagon. (U.S. Navy/Bob Houlihan)
Trump probably does not know that Iran is a large country, definitely not on the small scale of countries that the U.S. normally attacks, invades and occupies.
Iran is no Grenada that had 96,000 persons when the U.S. invaded in 1983
Iran is no Somalia that had a population of 6 million in 1993 when the U.S. invaded.
Iran is no Panama that had 2.5 million inhabitants in 1989 when the U.S. invaded.
Iran is no Afghanistan that had 20 million in 2001 when the U.S. invaded.
Iran is no Iraq that had 20.6 million persons in 2003 when the U.S. invaded.
Iran is no Libya with 6.2 million citizens when the U.S. and NATO bombed it in 2011
Iran is no Syria with 20.5 million citizens in 2011 when the U.S. began its war on the Assad government.
Looking at the Western Hemisphere, Trump’s advisers have put him in a situation with Venezuela, a country with a population of 32.7 million in 2019, that should remind him of the disaster that President John F. Kennedy caused when his advisors told him in 1961 that the invasion of Cuba with a population of 7.2 million in 1961 would be a “cakewalk” to borrow a phrase from Bush One’s advisers on the invasion of Iraq sixteen years ago.
Trump probably does not realize that the country of Cuba that seems to be a massive threat to the U.S. (or to the wealthy, influential Cuban-American exiles in Miami and South Florida) has a population in 2019 of only 11.3 million and a land area 89 times smaller than the U.S., about the size of Florida, and has been under the most severe sanctions and blockade the U.S. has put on any country, for almost 60 years.
Trump’s advisers, headed by John Bolton, are taking over and orchestrating his policies that have quickly destabilized the world and has jeopardized the security of the United States.
Ann Wright served 29 years in the U.S. Army/Army Reserves and retired as a colonel. She was a U.S. diplomat for 16 years and served in U.S. Embassies in Nicaragua, Grenada, Somalia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Micronesia, Afghanistan and Mongolia. She resigned from the U.S. government in March 2003 in opposition to President George W. Bush’s war on Iraq. She is co-author of “Dissent: Voices of Conscience.”
Please Make a Donation to Our
Spring Fundraising Drive Today!
I am sick unto death of this ‘Prometheus Bound’ portrayal of Trump as some kind of naive captive of a band of evil NeoCons who’ve misled him despite his ostensible ‘good intentions’. He appointed them because they represented his views and he could depend on them to pursue his policies (he fired those who didn’t!) . He’s C-in-C & the buck stops at his desk. Stop being Trump apologists and face the reality that he’s a global dictator wannabe! [Also posted at a Finnian Cunningham op-ed on RT [https://www.rt.com/op-ed/459425-iran-war-bolton-us/] espousing the same “Trump is a nieve naif being manipulated by evil NeoCons” rhetoric.
Will this be the false flag attack that Washington uses to justify unleashing the dogs of war on Iran?
Saudi says that Yemen hit and damaged one of its oil pipelines with a small drone.
Of course, Yemen is considered a proxy of Iran by the US and the KSA, and Saudi oil production is assumed to be an American interest. By American logic Iran has officially made war on our great freedom-loving country. This meets the criteria laid down by Bolton for an American reprisal against Iran.
https://www.usnews.com/news/world-report/articles/2019-05-14/yemeni-armed-drones-attack-saudi-oil-pipeline
Of course, this is all insane.
Some British general said that nothing consequential would come of the incident. The American military told him to STFU, that he was speaking out of turn.
There are two types of enemy drones here already. One with bombs and the other carrying fentanyl. Perfect undetectable weapons. Congress is obviously panicked have you ever seen them rush anything so fast? Just as Yemen apparently is taking the war to Saudi Arabia, this war will be fought on US soil.
“An aviation bill Congress is rushing to approve contains a
little-noticed section that would give authorities the power to track,
intercept and destroy drones they consider a security threat, without
needing a judge’s approval.
The bill was never considered on its own by the full Senate or the
House. Instead, in private negotiations that ended last weekend, it
was tucked into a “must-pass” piece of FAA legislation.”
http://journalrecord.com/2018/09/28/government-may-gain-new-power-to-track-shoot-down-drones/
“Villareal said the devices could be used to carry out a massive attack on the public. Someone looking to carrying out a terror attack could plant synthetic fentanyl on the drone and release it over a group of people. Just three tiny grains of the strongest fentanyl being smuggled into the U.S. is enough to put a person in a coma and a small baggie full of the substance would have devastating effects.
“It’s the perfect criminal tool,” Villareal said. “A single pound of fentanyl [dropped above a crowd] would devastate a whole stadium.”
Drone activity by drug cartels surges on San Diego’s border with Mexico
by Anna Giaritelli
| October 31, 2018 06:44 PM
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/drone-activity-by-drug-cartels-surges-on-san-diegos-border-with-mexico
If A = B and if B = C then A = C. Simple enough.
Israel leads Bolton. Bolton leads Trump. Therefore, Israel leads Trump. Simple enough?
Oh great. We’re back to building fallout shelters.
“Ole’ Bombs Away” Bolton. No one was expecting anything different were they.
Isn’t it about time we all got together and got out the pictures of pitch forks and send them to our senator?. Or are we going to sit around with our thumbs up our asses?
These people, these NEOCONS are not going to quit until someone stops them. If you support the troops first support the truth.
Time to send Bolton, Cheney, Pomeo, McConell, Graham, Pelosi, Clinton, “CHUCKIE” , Bennie “the Blade” Notinyahoo and the list goes on and on, all the Hawks to jail for lying about misrepresenting threats to America.
VINY, the village idiot new york, Trump will be fine. He’s a multi-billionaire, for now! So all the “lying Trump” supporters stop the whining.
Bolton is not a nationalist as he has no respect for the nationalism of others. He is a rank imperialist, or in dire need of professional help.
Is Bolton more dangerous than the two party system that produced him? Unlikely since the system can produce more Boltons, more wars and more Citizens United decisions.
I’m not suggesting that a two party system is the root of all evil. The American experience (including your experience) has shown time, after time, after time the two party system is unnatural, anti-democratic, and anti republican in a large country with a large diverse population. Presidents should not have a senate majority.
Recall that were it not for the operation run by the FBI to oust Gen Michael Flynn, which included Obama holdovers as well as the aide to VP Pence, Bolton would not have become National Security Advisor,
And now we are beginning to see the effect of John Bolton, with the weekend incident near the Strait of Hormuz where two Saudi oil tankers were damaged and two other vessels, which the US claims is likely due to Iran. Reminiscent of Gulf of Tonkin incident? Just one chickenhawk like Bolton can have this impact, like a chain reaction. We are dependent on China and Russia for sanity, will have to follow closely.
Yes, this is plainly a US false-flag operation modeled consciously on the fake 1964″ Gulf of Tonkin Incident” used to declare war on N Vietnam, where the US built up vast naval forces against N Vietnam’s six patrol boats, machine-gunned its coastal defense radar stations at night, then invaded its territorial waters with destroyers, claimed that one patrol boat six miles away was attacking a heavily-armed destroyer that suffered no damage, sank the boat at that distance, and used the lie to launch a long-planned massive aerial bombardment. The Admiral in charge was told to be silent or lose everything. The MSM said nothing and still say nothing of it. LBJ said (at least in effect) that “You can have your war if I can have the [1964] election.”
These warmongers are traitors against the United States, consciously and deliberately starting wars for personal gain and personal politics, deliberately lying to deceive the People of the United States, deliberately abusing office to the maximum extent of their abilities, deliberately killing millions for their perverse aggrandizement and profit, deliberately violating separation of powers by threatening Congress with non-existent military threats. This is why Madison warned of the “cabals of the few”, it is why the federal powers do not include waging foreign wars or anything beyond repelling invasion, it is why the Founders opposed standing military forces, it is why Eisenhower warned of the out-of-control MIC. This warmongering is war upon the US, and is very clearly Treason.
These psychotic traitors should be executed for treason if anyone ever should be, for treason it certainly is, and has caused the US to kill about 20 million innocents since WWII, with no gain of any kind except money for the MIC and its criminal opportunists.
Sam F, you state that (LBJ said (at least in effect) that “You can have your war if I can have the [1964] election.”) so, which is it?
Pompeo & Bolton are there to take down Trump: they are setting up so treacherous events around him that if he acts he loses, if not he is toast.
There is still a strong tendency to make out that Trump is a helpless victim of the assorted rogues and crazies, that somehow found themselves appointed to positions of power and influence. If Trump doesn’t want the war, that we are currently hurtling towards, then he should have sacked both Bolton and Pompeo long before now, but he hasn’t and he won’t. In short, there is really no one else but Trump to blame for the almighty mess, that is just around the corner.
Most precious soul Ann Wright, Please, I beg you to run for president. You already have my vote, it counts.
It is really great to see articles by veterans who served in these US wars, and know what the truth is. This article very clearly pinpoints that Bolton et al have no memory, and certainly no sense of perspective in regards to the havoc the US has caused in the Middle East. We need veterans such as Ann to tell us the truth, as most others get called out as Fake News. It is not fake, it is inconvenient too these warmongers. But the public want to know the truth, and we need more and more vets brave enough to take the wrath of this despicable regime in America, and do it anyway. I thank you for doing so, and I hope somehow if enough people know the truth, we can prevent the coming bloodbath that we have seen all too many times before.
Bolton led Florida STOP THE COUNT protest which allowed GW Bush to “win” the 2000 presidential election / after SCOTUS Fix!!!
It was a Classic Right Wing Coup d’ Etat as within the framework of the Right Wing CIA Assassination of JFK / RFK and the 1999 Political assassination / Murder of The Last Kennedy, in a 1999USA Right Wing orchestrated political assassination. …
https://www.globalresearch.ca/overthrowing-other-peoples-governments-the-master-list-of-u-s-regime-changes/5400829
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy_Jr._plane_crash
President Revolton Bolton & Vice President Pompouspeo live in Lala Land if they think they can destroy Iran? This is a Nation that can fight back? What I envisage, if the foolhardy, idiotic Trump administration does attack Iran is more US flag draped coffins, more US soldiers with massive PTSD syndrome’s & trillions of dollars of useless hunks of US Aircraft carrier metal lying at the bottom of the Sea of Homuz from a few Iranian missiles? Why does this stupid US Nation never learn from its disastrous Regime change mistakes & ludicrous Military failures? What’s clearly been shown from all of America’s decades long meddling & destructive Wars from Vietnam to Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria to Venezuela & Cuba & now Iran, that American Military might doesn’t equate into Military success against a united people or Nation that’s determined to fight for their Countries Sovereignty & self determination? Willpower beats Firepower every time? Someone needs to spell out this reality fact to Trump but as always the Orange haired Golem & his “Exceptional Nation” of misfits is beating the War drums & rattling the sabres, heading for another humiliating War defeat in which the only Victory they can ever hope to achieve is as a despoiler & disrupter, creating chaos & disorder, but how many thousands will die as a result of America’s foolhardiness & arrogance! Trump’s “Make Israel great again”, may well, blow up in his face with humiliation & disastrous results that could really signal the deathnell of the dying US, Unipolar Empire, once & for all time!
Little more needs to be said, sad but true,
I am always sympathetic with the notion that Trump somehow doesn’t know that his promises contradict his choice of advisers and policies. But it is clear that he does know, has full control, and fully intends the “policies that have quickly destabilized the world.” He no sooner thinks of a profitable lie about his values and intentions, than he speaks it with a sincere expression. Trump simply sold the US to the highest bidder, the zionists et al, as he has done all his life.
That’s what the US government has become, a dictatorship of the rich, and so it will remain. The problem is that the US Constitution was written before economic power was concentrated. Now the tools of democracy (elections and mass media) are owned by the oligarchy, the government cannot be reformed, the US is doomed, and it must be recycled to restore democracy. The only question is the exact process of rotting and demise, but anything that recycles America is good for Americans.
Humanity has no option in May 2019 but to – with the greatest wisdom, maturity, sobriety and focus on future generations possible – respond to people on Earth in positions of immense power having all the appearances of being dangerously, criminally insane.
Peace.
I think Ann Wright may be missing the threat, somewhat. She writes that by having so many bases surrounding Iran that if provoked Iran will target one or more US military sites or targets. She also knows how the U.S. Zionist government is keen to use false flag attacks in order to “justify” asymmetrical responses, keeping in line with their “full spectrum dominance” agenda. Therefore one can conclude the agenda all along has been to surround Iran with military might and then goad, I.e., sanction them into making a provocative move and then expand the war with Iran into a war with Russia.
So, to sum up, U.S. personnel are not at risk, other than a few sacrificial lambs, the entire world is at risk from madmen such as Bolten, the CIA, AIPAC, TRUMP, CLINTON and the rest of the media military industrial banksters complex.
This sort of thing makes me sick to my stomach. Yet I know as sure as my name is Jeff Harrison, that the US is going to try to get satisfaction from Iran for kicking us out in 1979 and selling oil is non-dollar currencies. I also know that we are going to get handed our ass.
You’r correct, but one has to understand that if it’s over money then the international banksters are at the core of it and are pulling the strings. So we know who to hold responsible and who to focus on during the upcoming mass civil unrest.
Those in positions of power and that order the war machine into action, carry more responsibility than the bankers.
Bolton is definitely unhinged; how Trump picked him is an inside story we don’t know. I have called the WH several times to complain about him and once got a guy who was annoyed at my complaint. Trump has such a narcissistic ego that we have to hope his ego clashes with Bolton’s, also a recipient of Adelson’s largesse to serve Israel. There are numerous stories about Bolton’s behavior when anyone disagrees with him; he goes ballistic, especially against women. He has been paid to speak to MEK that advocates overthrow of Iran’s government. He works for Israel. He is a dangerous ideologue at the very least.
This has many aspects of a false flag against Iran. Those were Saudi tankers hit by ‘sabotage’ off the UAE coast and this occurs just after the United States cautioned ships that “Iran or its proxies” could have maritime traffic in their crosshairs just in case something happens to ships and someone is wondering who did it. The US has deployed the Abraham Lincoln, B-52s plus assorted toys to the area to counter Iran’s alleged threats.
Saudi Arabia, long time Iranian enemy, helped the US in Yemen. Now Trump’s minions are in clandestine talks to sell nuclear tech to the unstable miscreants in Saudi.
Is this payment for Yemen and what is coming in Iran? If they pin the sabotage of the ships on Iran, which is too stupid a move for Iran to make, Saudi can justify just about anything toward Iran.
This also includes Trump’s desperate attempts to get Netanthu reelected to what should be his last term. Trump has formally recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and gifted Israel with the Golan Heights.
All of this stems from A Clean Break a pact made with Netanyahu.
A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm,”
co-authored by Perle
On July 8, 1996, Richard Perle, now the Chairman of the Defense Policy Board, an advisory group that reports to Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, presented a written document to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, spelling out a new Israeli foreign policy, calling for a repudiation of the Oslo Accords and the underlying concept of “land for peace”; for the permanent annexation of the entire West Bank and Gaza Strip; and for the elimination of the Saddam Hussein regime in Baghdad, as a first step towards overthrowing or destabilizing the governments of Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Iran.
http://www.yaledivestmentnews.org/worlddomination.html
The bright side is that so far – unlike in 2002-2003 – Bolton and Pompeo don’t seem to have the pull to put the worst of that faction’s obscene ambitions into effect.
The aircraft carrier heading to the Persian Gulf is on a scheduled deployment. The new B-52’s and the Patriot battery are drops in the regional bucket.
In Venezuela, Guaidó has been reduced to openly begging for U.S. military intervention. Not something we’ve seen in previous, successful Yankee coups in Latin America.
On the other hand, the full range of economic coercive tools are being used against both Iran and Venezuela, among others, and this in itself amounts to making war, tantamount to a blockade.
But while no one is restraining the utterances of Bolton et al., and the mainstream media is as always obediently parroting what the national “security” establishment is telling them, as of now most of the elements of U.S. military power (including covert) seem to be waiting on the sidelines.
Since the scary space between Trump’s ears is the greatest fascination of our era, we can admit this may have something to do with his Cheeto-dusted personality. No one should ever count on Trump for anything, but the fact remains that a real hunger for making war has never seemed to be among his legion of bad qualities, and *so far* none of the Beltway ghouls appear to have found the lever to decisively put him on the track to new and expanded wars.
Much more significant are the limitations in what the U.S. can accomplish militarily without sustaining unacceptable military and economic losses, as adumbrated by Pepe Escobar today elsewhere in CN with respect to Iran.
Trump, Bolton, and Pompeo are all, in their various ways, incapable or uninterested in realistic appreciation of these situations, but – it is to be hoped – there are others in positions of power who will continue to limit the chances of new wars.
John Bolton has received numerous awards from the pro-Israel Lobby due to his fervent promotion of Zionism and Israeli government policy. The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), Bolton’s enthusiastic sponsor, led the campaign to remove former National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster from his post after railing against McMaster’s “anti-Israel” positions, most notably his support for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), better known as the Iran nuclear deal:
“Since his appointment […] Bolton has promoted and helped bring to fruition policies long supported by [Trump’s top political donor, Zionist oligarch Sheldon] Adelson and the ZOA – which Adelson helps fund – as well as related groups. Under Bolton’s influence, President Trump unilaterally withdrew the U.S. from the JCPOA and imposed harsh sanctions against Iran, which disproportionately affect Iranian civilians. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently stated that Iranian leaders would need to fall in line if ‘they want their people to eat,’ underscoring the fact that the Iranian people are by and large the target of the U.S. sanctions targeting Iran.
“In addition, Bolton has also used his role as National Security Adviser to advocate for other troubling policies in the Middle East to the benefit of Israel, such as the continuation and expansion of the U.S.’ occupation of around 30 percent of Syrian territory.”
John Bolton Wins “Defender of Israel” Award from Zionist Lobby Group that Helped Appoint Him
By Whitney Webb
https://www.mintpressnews.com/john-bolton-wins-defender-of-israel-award-from-zionist-lobby-group/251729/
Wow, I didn’t know this. Thanks. You should have wrote the article… Haha.
Peace, brother.
“Trump probably doesn’t remember that Donald Rumsfeld handed chemical weapons to Saddam to use on Iran.Iran suffered over 1 million deaths from that war. ”
Even if Trump ever knew this or remembered it, he still wouldn’t care.
“While many are horrified by Bolton’s hyper-nationalism, his callous militarism, and his open contempt for diplomacy and international law—qualities that also fairly describe the prevailing mood in Israel today—his “stellar” pro-Israel record is rarely discussed. Bolton’s appointment exposes how detrimentally uncritical and silent Washington is on Israeli policies. If the media [including ‘independent journalists’ and ‘veteran intelligence professionals’] were doing their job, they would highlight Israel’s role in Bolton’s political career and the fact that American and Israeli interests are not, and probably should never be, identical.”
John Bolton’s Extremism Is Perfectly Aligned With the Most Bellicose Israeli Policies
By Mairav Zonszein
https://www.thenation.com/article/john-boltons-extremism-is-perfectly-aligned-with-the-most-bellicose-israeli-policie