Bolton vs Mattis and Pompeo
by digby
I keep hearing on TV that Bolton was responsible for Trump’s pull-out but has lost the latest round on the North Korea summit because Mattis and Pompeo have convinced him to think again.
I have my doubts. Trump wants the pageantry of the meeting so he can strut around comparing himself to Jesus and get his prize (or whine incessantly about not getting it which works just as well with his perpetually aggrieved followers) but he does not care about or have any interest in the substance of an agreement. On that count Bolton is winning by doing no preparation for one.
Recall Bolton’s previous success in this arena during his stint in the Bush administration:
“Bolton undertook a dedicated campaign to destroy the U.S. nuclear deal with North Korea, which he’s been very clear about ― he doesn’t even hide it. So my guess is that Bolton will undertake precisely the same campaign [with the Iran deal], and, in this case, he will reinforce all of the president’s worst tendencies,” he said. “It’s a good deal, and Bolton’s probably going to do a lot of damage to it.”
The U.S. signed an “Agreed Framework” with North Korea in 1994 to freeze Pyongyang’s nuclear power plant program. After Washington received intelligence that North Korea’s nuclear program was advancing more rapidly than expected, Bolton wrote: “This was the hammer I had been looking for to shatter the Agreed Framework” in his memoir, Surrender Is Not an Option.
He has always wanted a military solution in North Korea. He still does and he is closer to the seat of power than he’s ever been before.
If Trump listens to Mattis and Pompeo it’s possible that they can let him have his little moment and get him out of this without too much damage. If Bolton carries the day as he obviously did when he worked the president up and persuaded him to call off the summit, well …
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