US President Donald Trump has fired John Bolton as national security adviser after months of tension over policy towards Iran and North Korea, saying he “disagreed strongly” with the hawkish aide on many positions. Mr Bolton’s departure follows a series of disagreements over US foreign policy at the highest levels of the Trump administration, including how to respond to provocations from Iran and North Korea as well as Mr Trump’s recent effort to negotiate a peace accord with the Taliban in Afghanistan. While Mr Trump continues to support denuclearisation negotiations with North Korea and has said he would meet the leaders of Iran, Mr Bolton was deeply sceptical about that stance.
Moderate politicians would welcome the political demise of the reckless hawk (John Bolton) who bears so much responsibility for so much appalling American foreign policy in the past. It is believed firing of Mr Bolton will pave the way for Mr Trump to open talks with the Iranians, which he has long wanted and Mr Bolton has fiercely resisted. It would not be a wild exaggeration to say that prospects for world peace rose markedly on Tuesday.
It is termed political demise of the reckless
hawk who bears so much responsibility
for so much appalling American foreign
policy in the past
The firing of Mr Bolton was viewed as another victory for Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, who enjoys a very close relationship with Mr Trump. Mr Bolton’s removal leaves Mr Trump unencumbered to pursue his improbable deals without internal reproach. This would likely include a fresh effort at talks with Kim Jong Un, North Korea’s dictator, whom Mr Trump last met in June on the 38th parallel at Panmunjom.
Reportedly, Mr Bolton was on a side trip to Ulaanbaatar, capital of Mongolia, at the time. It also means Mr Trump can push ahead with his hopes of meeting Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s president, who is due to be in New York later this month at the annual UN General Assembly.
The national security adviser may have been the most ferocious of the voices urging Mr Trump to turn up the pressure on Iran, but he was certainly not alone. Mr Bolton’s presence in the White House was frightening. Whether one loves Trump or hates him, it's impossible to conclude anything other than Trump fired Bolton on a whim -- or in a pique of annoyance at Bolton's hawkish tendencies.
