World- U.S. President Donald Trump
abruptly fired his national security adviser John Bolton amid
disagreements with his hardline aide over how to handle foreign
policy challenges such as North Korea, Iran, Afghanistan and
Russia.
"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," Trump
tweeted on Tuesday, adding that he would name a replacement next
week.
Bolton, a leading foreign policy hawk and Trump's third
national security adviser, was widely known to have pressed the
president for a harder line on issues such as North Korea.
Bolton, also a chief architect of Trump's strident stance
against Iran, had also advocated a tougher approach on Russia
and Afghanistan.
Bolton, who took up the post in April 2018, replacing H.R.
McMaster, had sometimes been at odds with Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo, one of Trump's main loyalists.
Offering a different version of events than Trump, Bolton
tweeted: "I offered to resign last night and President Trump
said, "Let's talk about it tomorrow."
Trump had sometimes joked about Bolton's image as a
warmonger, reportedly saying in one Oval Office meeting that
"John has never seen a war he doesn't like."
Trump's North Korea envoy, Stephen Biegun, is among the
names floated as possible successors.
“Biegun much more like Pompeo understands that the president
is the president, that he makes the decisions," said a source
close to the White House.
Also considered in the running is Deputy Secretary of State
John Sullivan, who had been expected to be named U.S. ambassador
to Russia.
White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said “many, many
issues” led to Trump’s decision to ask for Bolton’s resignation.
She would not elaborate.
"HE'LL BOMB YOU"
Trump would sometimes chide Bolton about his hawkish ways in
meetings, introducing him to visiting foreign leaders by saying,
“You all know the great John Bolton. He’ll bomb you. He’ll take
out your whole country.”
Officials and a source close to Trump said the president had
grown weary of his hawkish tendencies and the bureaucratic
infighting that he got involved with.
Bolton traveled widely in the role and on his travels, for
example, he warned Russia against interfering in U.S. elections
and promoting strong ties with Israel.
Bolton had opposed a State Department plan to sign an Afghan
peace deal with the Taliban militia, believing the group's
leaders could not be trusted.
Sources familiar with his view said Bolton believed the
United States could draw down to 8,600 troops in Afghanistan and
maintain a counter-terrorism effort without signing a peace deal
with the Taliban.
U.S. officials have said it was Bolton who was responsible
for the collapse of a summit in February between Trump and North
Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi by recommending the
presentation a list of hardline demands that Kim rejected.
North Korea media in May referred to Bolton as a “war
maniac” who “fabricated various provocative policies such as
designation of our country as 'axis of evil', preemptive strike
and regime change."
Bolton’s departure comes a day after North Korea signaled a
new willingness to resume stalled denuclearization talks with
the United States, but then conducted the latest in a recent
spate of missile launches.
A source familiar with Trump’s viewed said Bolton had
ruffled a lot of feathers with other key players in the White
House, particularly White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney
because “he doesn’t play by the rules.”
“He’s a kind of a rogue operator but that’s kind of how he
is,” the source said.