What Does Bolton’s Ouster Mean to Victims of US Imperial Aggression?

John Bolton, the hired gun who specializes in warmongering for Republican presidents, has legions of soul mates among Russia-obsessed Democrats.

“If Trump tries to make peace with some US ‘enemies’ this election season, he will be opposed by corporate Democrats and their media.”

Donald Trump, the highly unpredictable white supremacist blowhard, has unceremoniously fired John Bolton, the totally predictable white supremacist ideologue who became national security advisor 17 months ago. Every sane person on the planet should be glad to see Bolton go. As libertarian Republican Sen. Rand Paul put it: “The threat of war worldwide goes down exponentially with John Bolton out of the White House. I think his advocacy for regime change around the world is a naïve worldview, and I think that the world will be a much better place with new advisers to the president.”

Bolton was a doomsday weapon with a moustache, primed to blow all of us to dust. His replacement in the Trump White House will likely not be much better, but literally no one could be worse. However, the sobering truth is that Bolton, the hired gun who specializes in warmongering for Republican presidents, has legions of soul mates among Russia-obsessed Democrats. The post-2016 Democratic Party is the true headquarters of imperial regime change and nuclear brinksmanship with Russia – the half of the electoral duopoly to which virtually all of the nation’s national security operatives fled after the hyper-impulsive Trump took over the GOP.

“The threat of war worldwide goes down exponentially with John Bolton out of the White House.”

The Democrats chose to oppose the Orange Menace from the right, framing Trump as a dupe or agent of the Kremlin. For the past three years top Democrats and Democrat-aligned corporate media have poisoned the political environment with rabid anti-Russia propaganda masquerading as journalism and congressional oversight. They have applauded Trump’s most dangerous aggressions -- calling his bombing of Syrian military bases “presidential” and backing his murderous economic blockade of Venezuela to the hilt – while undermining Trump’s initiatives for peace on the Korean peninsula and his efforts to maintain a speaking relationship with Moscow, the other nuclear superpower. When Trump restated his campaign intentions to disentangle from Barack Obama’s war against Syria, draw down U.S. forces in Africa, and end the marathon occupation of Afghanistan, Democrats and their corporate media darkly warned that he was weakening America’s posture in the world and, wittingly or unwittingly, playing into Vladimir Putin’s hands. Minus the Russiagate nonsense, these are essentially John Bolton’s positions.

Bolton opposed Trump’s repeated calls for Russia to rejoin the Group of Seven (G-7) countries, echoing – and predating – the Democrats and their media’s demand that Moscow be quarantined as a pariah nation.

“Democrats have applauded Trump’s most dangerous aggressions.”

So venomous have the Democrats become in their Russiagate madness, that lifelong peacenik and perennial impeachment advocate David Swanson has foresworn impeachment proceedings against Trump in the current, Democrat-controlled House of Representatives. “Russiagate,” said Swanson, “creates a competition among its various supporters and detractors to appear tougher than the other guy on Russia, more eager to enflame hostilities, more prepared to consign us all to nuclear apocalypse. If Russiagate were a prescription drug, every ‘news’ story about it would have to have carried that warning: ‘Viewing this may increase the risk of nuclear war.’”

Bolton lasted a year and a half in the Trump White House, despite his many acts of disrespect for his boss, because Trump sees himself as a master of international showmanship, as opposed to diplomacy -- a discipline that Trump is far too undisciplined to fathom. In Trump’s imagined global drama, Bolton would serve as the bad cop, but only to set the stage for Trump to step in and forge the big “deal” with the U.S. adversary. Voila: peace a la Trump. But Bolton kept ruining the show, sabotaging negotiations with the intent to make them unsalvageable, as he pushed relentlessly towards war. Trump finally realized that Bolton was not his operative, and cut him loose. Perhaps now Trump will attempt to make peace with some of the nations and movements on the U.S. enemies list, in this election season. If so, he will be opposed by, not only free agent warmonger Bolton, but the corporate Democrats and their media.

“Bolton kept ruining the show, sabotaging negotiations as he pushed relentlessly towards war.”

The Democrats claim, rightly, that Trump is crazy, yet they are wildly schizophrenic in their response to his presidency – by necessity. The core of the Party, personified by Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, is totally servile to the Lords of Capital, and thus wholly committed to endless wars and austerity. But the Party’s left section, personified by Sen. Bernie Sanders and the four young House members known as “The Squad,” represent the politics of a majority of the Democratic base, but account for only a small fraction of the Party’s corporate-bought roster of elected officials. Although Sanders has stepped up his critique of U.S. foreign policy as the campaign has progressed, he still cannot be described as an anti-war candidate. His “progressive” competitor, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, is a traditional Democratic military “hawk” who voted for Trump’s war budget. The only Democratic elected official that is running for president against U.S. regime change wars, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, has been knocked off the schedule of televised debates – which have, at any rate, so far spent only minutes on foreign policy.

“The core of the Party, personified by Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, is totally servile to the Lords of Capital.”

The people of Venezuela have no reason to believe that operatives of either duopoly party will spare them from the ravages of the U.S. military and financial regime-change machine. The same goes for the Iranians and Syrians and everyone else on the planet. Support and attend the People’s Mobilization to Stop the US War Machine and Save the Planet, September 20 through 23, in New York City. Christian liberationist intellectual Cornel West and Omali Yeshitela, chairman of the Black Is Back Coalition for Social Justice, Peace and Reparations will speak, and much of the Black Agenda Report team are participating.

Only a mass movement of the streets can begin to dismantle the twin imperial policies of endless austerity and war, end the military occupations of Africa and Black America, and save the world from a wounded and angry ecosphere.

BAR executive editor Glen Ford can be contacted at [email protected].

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