Donald Trump’s national security advisor John Bolton resigned due to irreconcilable differences with the US President. His resignation, however, can hardly improve the situation in the White House. Moreover, it will lead to uncertain consequences for America’s policy. It is highly unlikely that Donald Trump’s administration will establish consensus anytime soon.
The US president supports friendly relations and peace negotiations with North Korea, withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan and restoring good relations with Kremlin. The last drop could be Bolton’s objection to Trump's idea of inviting Taliban terrorists to Camp David for peace talks.
John Bolton is already the fourth national security advisor to President Trump. He was preceded by Susan Rice, Michael Flynn and Herbert McMaster. 70-year-old Bolton was appointed to this position last April after working as the US Permanent Representative to the United Nations and Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security.
Different approaches
According to both sides, John Bolton offered to resign, while Trump suggested to "talk about it tomorrow». The President then announced his decision on Twitter:
"I informed John Bolton last night that his services are no longer needed at the White House. I disagreed strongly with many of his suggestions, as did others in the Administration, and therefore I asked John for his resignation, which was given to me this morning. I thank John very much for his service. I will be naming a new National Security Advisor next week."
According to Colin Kahl, former Obama administration aide, Bolton’s resignation "likely signals that Trump is desperate to run a string of deals, however cosmetic, prior to the 2020 election on Afghanistan, Iran, and North Korea and sees Bolton as a roadblock."
"I've said it before, but the best thing about Donald Trump is that he seems instinctually skeptical of going to war. His hiring of Bolton was a strike against that. His firing of Bolton is a rare bright spot in his presidency,” Ezra Klein, Vox editor-in-chief, twitted.
Bolton, in turn, supported tougher approaches on the US foreign affairs. He initiated the US missile strikes against Syria in 2018. He was also one of the authors of the playbook for cancelation of America's participation in the Iran nuclear deal.
Aggressive but not effective
Bolton's aggressive political views led to controversial consequences for the US and the world. For instance, the support of "maximum pressure" approach regarding Tehran led to conflicts with the world powers over oil and sanctions. As a result, Iran is moving closer to building a nuclear bomb.
As Tehran’s representative announced, Bolton's resignation will not force Iran to reconsider negotiations with the US.
The aforementioned attitudes have provoked a series of high-profile failures in the international arena.
"Bolton blew up the Hanoi summit with Kim, pushed for airstrikes on Iran, completely botched the attempted Venezuela coup, undermined the Syria troop withdrawal, demanded endless war in Afghanistan. And that's just in the past 9 months. The guy is a total lunatic,” British-American academic and producer Michael Tracey tweeted.
The US policy did not result in an agreement for North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program. Pyongyang has also requested to replace Bolton and Mike Pompeo in negotiations. The current president of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani might have a chance to win in the upcoming election, yet the Taliban accuses his government of succumbing to Washington.
Although Bolton is a rather controversial person and has many opponents, he was hired to the White House as a man of honor and a champion of the Washington political game.
Nevertheless, Donald Trump’s administration lacks experience and leverage. If the President doesn’t find an adequate replacement for the experienced, resigned politicians, it won’t be able to make big foreign policy breakthroughs. Bolton's retirement could make the US policy more infantile, impulsive, less strategic and more committed to events like summits with Kim John Un. The US intelligence officials do not believe Kim will sacrifice his principles. Hassan Rouhani approved Bolton’s removal from the White House, yet no significant effects are noted.
“The departure of Bolton suggests that President Trump is going to be his own foreign policy adviser,” said Martin S. Indyk, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.
PoliticojournalistGabbyOrr named one more reason for John’s Bolton resignation.
«A consistent complaint among Trump loyalists & fellow WH officials is that Bolton and his camp were extremely leaky,” she tweeted.
It looks like Bolton irritated too many people. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed that he often disagreed with Bolton and said that the president’s team should include people whom he trusts and appreciates.
What about Ukraine and Russia?
Russia does not expect any improvements in its relations with the United States due to Bolton's resignation, as Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov stated.
In late August of 2019, John Bolton visited Ukraine. He warned about the deal on the acquisition of Ukrainian airspace giant Motor Sich by China. Motor Sich sale appears like another move by China to build up its military strength and global influence, according to the White House.
“We laid out our concerns about ... unfair Chinese trade practices, threats to national security we’ve seen in the United States...”, he said during the news conference in Kyiv.
Bolton, at the same time, has always been a huge critic of the Kremlin.
After the nuclear explosion in Russia, Bolton accused Russia of stealing American hypersonic technologies. Russia spends enough money on defense to modernize nuclear weapons while using technologies, most of which are stolen from the United States. Russia tried to master the stolen technology, but in the end, something went wrong, as Bolton stated.
"The president of Belarus is beginning to display more independence. Therefore America has decided that through its politics it can encourage greater autonomy", Bolton noted while being in Minsk. Media recognized this comment as an attack on Putin.
