After having criticized Mitt Romney for having former CIA and NSA director Michael Hayden advising him, I feel it is only fair to point out that former US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton is also advising the likely Republican presidential nominee. And unlike Hayden, Bolton is a brilliant strategic thinker, organizational leader and innovator, and friend of Israel.
In an article in Newsmax published this week, Bolton laid out the threat a nuclear armed Iran poses to the Middle East and the US and presented the argument for military strikes against Iran’ nuclear facilities. He summarized Obama’s policies towards Iran noting that Obama has no intention of attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities and opposes an Israeli military strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities more than he opposes a nuclear armed Iran.
Bolton then called for the US — through the Congress — to support an Israeli military strike. The most important thing the US can do in this regard is ensure that the US will resupply Israel with the military platforms it will need to defend itself against the likely Iranian decision to use its Hezbollah and Hamas proxies to attack Israel to retaliate against an IDF strike on Iran’s nuclear installations.
Bolton doesn’t cover any new ground in his article. But what he does do is show that Newt Gingrich was talking sense when he said that if he is elected president he will appoint Bolton to serve as his Secretary of State.
Despite Gingrich’s enthusiastic endorsement, Bolton came out in support of Romney. He argued that Romney is the most conservative candidate that has the potential to defeat Obama. Since he announced his support, Bolton has reportedly been advising Romney. So after attacking Romney advisor Michael Hayden yesterday for his apparent support for Obama’s Iran policy, it is only fair to salute him for having Bolton on his team.
I think it would be extremely helpful if for Romney’s supporters to pressure him to commit to appointing Bolton as his Secretary of State in the event he wins the Republican nomination and defeats Obama in November. If Romney were to do that, I would say that every right thinking person should go to bat for him. Right now a Romney vs. Obama race is a choice between an acceptable option and an unacceptable one. If he announced that Bolton will be his Secretary of State, Romney would immediately transform the content into a race between an amazing option and an unacceptable one.
8 Comments