Trump Says He Fired National Security Advisor John Bolton -- But Bolton Says He 'Offered To Resign' (cnbc.com) 241
President Donald Trump said Tuesday he fired national security advisor John Bolton, saying on Twitter he had "disagreed strongly with many of his suggestions." From a report: But minutes later, Bolton in his own tweet said that he "offered to resign" Monday night -- and that Trump told him, "Let's talk about it tomorrow." Either way, Bolton's departure shocked Washington, D.C., and oil crude futures fell. Bolton, who was named national security advisor in March 2018, is a harsh critic of Iran, and has advocated military strikes against that oil-rich nation. "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," Trump said in a tweet. "I thank John very much for his service. I will be naming a new National Security Advisor next week." Earlier this month, Bolton had accused China of stealing US technology to make a stealth fighter. On a visit to Ukraine last month, Bolton said an unnamed fifth-generation aircraft "looks a lot like the F-35, that's because it is the F-35. They just stole it."
I'll be his national security advisor (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:I'll be his national security advisor (Score:5, Insightful)
But you'll never wash the stink off, and it will follow you around forever. This might be alright if you want a job with the right wing grist mill, but anyone else will look at that entry on your CV and say "what the fuck were you thinking?" Better collect seven figures at least, because the only one who will want to employ you is you.
Money makes a great perfume (Score:4, Insightful)
Add enough perfume ($$$) and you can mask the smell of the septic tank you were swimming in. Some people will notice something odd and some will realize they shouldn't shake your hands but if you are used to enjoying ass-kissers you will hardly notice any change as long as you increase the $$$ with the level of stink.
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But you'll never wash the stink off, and it will follow you around forever. This might be alright if you want a job with the right wing grist mill, but anyone else will look at that entry on your CV and say "what the fuck were you thinking?" Better collect seven figures at least, because the only one who will want to employ you is you.
Hmm... If we give the rats a way to get off the sinking ship, how long until Captain Donald is alone in the White House?
Eww... Bad idea. #PresidentTweety would NOT be alone. There would still be the idol-worshiping "true" believers like Stephen Miller.
And yet I do wonder which way the family would go. Is Ivanka loyal and stupid enough to stay aboard with "Daddy"?
How about a happier subject? I really like your sig, though I think it might sound funnier with "non-trivial zeros". Perhaps "half-imaginary non-tr
Not True (Score:3)
There's an entire establishment media apparatus designed to take care of people that take care of mega corporations. Anyone who serves high in the Trump administration is set for life. Even if they get a long jail sentence Trump will probably just pardon them. And a few years in club fed in exchange for a lifetime of cushy well
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Also think tanks, administrative jobs in religious universities, security contractors, itinerant speaker for hire (hey, Politicon always has time slots to fill) -- I suppose the job market isn't as narrow as I thought, presuming you can deal with knowing you're selling the country and the world down the river for a pocketful of silver.
Re:I'll be his national security advisor (Score:5, Insightful)
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For the record, I disagree with just about every thing penandpaper has ever posted on /. , but I am trying to make sure I challenge my assumptions. So I did a google search for former obama joins cnn [google.com] and there seem to be at least a few instances of advisors joining the cast.
As of this writing parent is downmodded to 0, I feel that is unfair.
Re:I'll be his national security advisor (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:I'll be his national security advisor (Score:4, Insightful)
The "real" lefties...got to MSNBC.
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No, sorry, the revolving door from the DNC still leads to Fox News. Just look at Donna Brazil.
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And the exit door of the Pentagon leading directly to the Military Industrial Complex.
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there's no door, they're the same room.
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I'll make a lot of money and he'll fire me after a few weeks as soon as I disagree with him and then I can go about my business with some extra cash in my pocket.
Actually, not that far-fetched because, as with apparently all Trump Administration positions, the job ad says, "No Experience Required."
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Well, whoever you are, you can't be less qualified than Bolton.
I'm surprised your FP didn't get at least a Funny mod. Maybe you needed to bolster your qualifications with some of your resume. For example, have you ever gone to Disneyland or some equally important foreign (but not a shithole) country?
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Bolton was probably fired for having better hair than Trump.
The doomsday clock just moved back a few minutes (Score:4, Insightful)
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Worse? (Score:5, Insightful)
Do you think replacing competent (good) war-hawk (bad) with an incompetent (bad) random (unknown) is trading up?
A) I've seen little evidence to convince me that Bolton is particularly competent or thoughtful
B) Since we don't know who would replace him, judging their competence seems premature
C) It seems unlikely he would be replaced with someone more inclined towards conflict given Bolton's approach
D) I have approximately zero faith in the competence or integrity of anyone willing to serve in the current administration
E) Anyone who isn't a Trump sycophant isn't going to last very long anyway.
Re:Worse? (Score:5, Insightful)
B) Since we don't know who would replace him, judging their competence seems premature
Given Trump's track record with regard to proposed appointees for cabinet positions - assuming incompetence is probably justified.
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Given Trump's track record with regard to proposed appointees for cabinet positions - assuming incompetence is probably justified.
Fair point. I agree the probability of incompetence and/or corruption is very high though I suppose there technically is a non-zero chance of a competent appointee. But you are right that incompetence is the most likely outcome.
Re:Worse? (Score:5, Informative)
Trumps qualifications for appointing people is:
They said something nice about him.
Real Qualifications don't mean anything to Trump. All he cares about is that the person praised him. The number of basically completely unqualified people that Trump has appointed is staggering. You need look no further than all the scandals the political appointees have been involved in to understand that.
Personally I don't like Bolton, he's a NeoCon that wants to rule the world but he IS experienced. Trump will replace him with a sycophant with no experience and then Trump will do something stupid like sign peace treaty with the Taliban.
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Personally, signing a peace treaty with the Taliban and ending the war in Afghanistan might be the only thing Trump would do that I could be OK with. But the devil is in the details, and I'm sure Trump would find a way to make a stupid deal that actually harms the US and
I would much rather have in inexperienced person (Score:3)
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John Bolton was not in a position where he could instigate any millitary action. He was the national security advisor. His job was to keep the president informed on national security issues.
Yes he was a war monger and generally, IMO, a really bad dude as far as wanting to start wars. BUT, he was very experienced at international relations. He's been UN ambassador multiple times and involved in the state department for years. His international experience is deep with a good understanding of foreign countries
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I agree in principle with you, but I don't know you can get much worse than Bolton. I have been watching this guy since dubya appointed him as ambassador to the UN, which we all felt was odd because he was on the record as believing that the UN shouldn't exist [youtube.com]. The right has basically been using him to troll the left since then. He pretty much never has spoken out on a problem without his solution being "bomb it and charge them to protect it afterwards." Putting him in any real kind of power was just ab
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Given Trump's track record with regard to proposed appointees for cabinet positions - assuming incompetence is probably justified.
Randomness seems to be the track record. He shuffles through them so fast because he's not really interested in vetting the candidates.
Ie, find someone with a tough-guy attitude, bonus points if they've got a tough-guy nickname, more bonus points if they're controversial, and appoint them to some office. Wait a few months then act surprised that the tough-guys aren't being obsequious and fire them.
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Given Trump's track record with regard to proposed appointees for cabinet positions - assuming incompetence is probably justified.
Saying that surely says something about the competency of Bolton.
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Worse? (Score:4, Insightful)
Ain't that the truth. Once upon a time I thought that the country could never have a president dumber than Ronald Reagan or more corrupt than Richard Nixon. Now I don't give the voting public credit for any sort of rational selection process.
Is it too late to bring back literacy tests for voter registration?
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Just because Ashcroft did the right thing one time doesn't prevent him from being as bad as he was on every other issue. It doesn't even mean he wasn't awful on that same issue, he simply managed to find one red line in a whole mess of questionably constitutional executive actions.
Bolton's good at what he does (Score:3)
To give the man credit where it's due, talking a country into attacking another country that didn't attack it first is harder than you think.
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A) he has been a proponent of every failed US military adventure. The evidence runs to the contrary, and strongly.
Trump took him on to shut him up, but that neocon stench is too dank.
Bolton will be back on CNN calling for blood again by tomorrow.
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Do you think replacing competent (good) war-hawk (bad) with an incompetent (bad) random (unknown) is trading up?
Hmm... Do you think it will be easy for Trump to find anyone less competent than Bolton?
Then again, I do see your Catch 22 and want to raise you to Catch 9-3/4. At this point only a total maroon would agree to board the sinking ship.
Best outcome might be if #PresidentTweety cancels the job and doesn't waste any time trying to replace the irreplaceable Bolton. Just ask Trump if he needs any help protecting the homeland, and each serious interview would take longer than nice round of golf, too.
Me? I think the
Re:The doomsday clock just moved back a few minute (Score:4, Insightful)
Yep the world is a little bit safer for the moment. It'll be hard to find a similarly terrible replacement for the man with the priapic boner for any and every war, but one of the very few things Trump is good at is having contacts with the shittiest humans alive, so I'm sure he'll do a good job of finding such a terrible person.
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It was easy enough to find this out with a simple Google Search. Try it next time before posting.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
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Drain the Swamp (Score:5, Funny)
Trump keeps his campaign promises by draining the swamp.
Now we just need to find out who appointed Bolton in the first place.
Re:Drain the Swamp (Score:5, Interesting)
Now we just need to find out who appointed Bolton in the first place.
I've been wondering that myself. For all his other many many faults Trump has been exceptionally hesitant to use military force and instead favoring diplomacy. I'm going to take a guess and say Bolbon's appointment came from pressure from the Neo-Con hardliners in the GOP.
Re:Drain the Swamp (Score:5, Insightful)
Now we just need to find out who appointed Bolton in the first place.
I've been wondering that myself. For all his other many many faults Trump has been exceptionally hesitant to use military force and instead favoring diplomacy.
I think that's because, for all his claims about how much he loves "his" generals, his bluster regarding how much he knows about the military (remember his whole "I know more about ISIS than the generals" claim?), and his history of being enamored with the military, he actually doesn't know much about it. Diplomacy is much closer to being in his wheelhouse. To him, diplomacy is basically the same as doing business negotiations. That's why he likes his one-on-ones with Putin, Kin Jong Un, etc. He thinks he's a good businessman and good negotiator and that politics and business are the same game with the same rules. Of course they aren't, so he keeps getting outplayed because it's the equivalent of him playing checkers while Kim/Putin are playing chess.
Also, in a more cynical note, think about Trump's business interests. They are mostly in real estate, hotels, golf courses, etc. When the economy is going great these type of properties bring in a good amount of money. But in a war, especially a major one, the global economy is going to cool off, possibly go into a recession. That means fewer people staying in hotels, fewer people golfing, and people deciding they don't need that expensive club membership that year. I would be willing to bet that, if Trump was more heavily invested in the military/defense industry he would be a lot more hawkish. Above all, Trump is going to do what's good for him and his. For right now, that's peace.
Re:Drain the Swamp (Score:5, Insightful)
Wow, you know Trump so well that you know his own personal inner thoughts! Amazing. You must be around him 24/7, his personal doctor, or a magician.
Everyone knows his inner thoughts. Just check Twitter.
Re:Drain the Swamp (Score:5, Insightful)
You can believe everything you read on the internet. Especially if it's on a website like twitter. Where accusations are enough to condemn, upvotes are accurate to the population, bubbles are incentivized, and virtue signaling are morally righteous crusades.
Trump puts his inner thoughts on Twitter at an average rate of of over 15 times a day this year.
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>you will never get good people to do the right thing on their own.
Whoops.
"you will never get bad people to do the right thing on their own."
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Doesn't take a lot to know the entirety of a two-bit-thinker's thoughts
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because you will never get good people to do the right thing on their own.
I think your point went south about here. Good people often do the right thing, that's what "good" means. Maybe "get good people motivated?" Is this a typo, or am I just thick?
Re:Drain the Swamp (Score:5, Insightful)
Where has he been demonstrably outplayed though?
Well, Putin is basically doing whatever he wants. Kremlin-linked PMCs like Wagner Group are running all over the Middle East and Africa. Tthe US military supporting SDF operations in Syria actually killed multiple members of Wagner in an airstrike, but actual casualty figures are unknwn given the secrecy of the group. Russian PMCs have been seen training various armies in Africa and have been linked to the killings of Russian journalists on the continent. And of course you still have the Crimea and Donbass situations. And there's the abrogation of weapons treaties between the US and Russia.
Trump has met Kim twice for talks, plus met him in person at the DMZ and crossed the border. All that's really done is give NK legitimacy and given Kim an internal propaganda boost. It hasn't done anything to stop weapons testing in North Korea.
As for Iran, we've had tit-for-tat tanker seizures in the Strait of Hormuz. Europe is still trying to keep the nuclear deal alive with Iran. Personally, to me there's no reason for us to be a hostile towards Iran as we are. Sure, the Republican Guard is an issue. But really, it comes down to a combination of leftover anger from the Iranian Revolution and an obsessively close relationship towards Israel. I'd rather us try to engage with Iran and take a bit more of a harsher stance towards Israel.
Re:Drain the Swamp (Score:4, Interesting)
There was never any good reason (Score:3)
Just like MS-13 we have only ourselves to blame and just like MS-13 it's used as a tool to further the very policies that lead to it in the first
Re:Drain the Swamp (Score:5, Insightful)
Where has he been demonstrably outplayed though? Only a few major deals are complete or close to it yet (Mexico, Canada), but he's actually managed to get some good ones in, plus some historic concessions out of NK that no President had gotten before.
What "concessions" out of NK? Apart from remains repartriation the situation with the NK is now WORSE than it was before. Un still has his bombs and they are right on track with missile development.
Diplomacy? (Score:5, Informative)
For all his other many many faults Trump has been exceptionally hesitant to use military force and instead favoring diplomacy.
What are you talking about [theatlantic.com]? His administration has used plenty of force, is still involved in active conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. In 2018 we dropped more munitions on Afghanistan than any year since this idiotic conflict started. He's currently agitating to start a war with Iran [washingtonpost.com] and has withdrawn from multiple weapons ban treaties. The man is a threat to our security [indivisible.org].
And diplomacy? Is that what you are calling it? The man hasn't worked out a single significant deal with any foreign power but has screwed several of them up, has started a trade war with one of our biggest allies, has insulted most of our allies, been bizarrely warm with dictators in countries not friendly to the US. I have no idea what you are talking about when you say he's favoring diplomacy because if this is what he thinks diplomacy is then he's terrible at it.
Re:Diplomacy? (Score:5, Insightful)
Trump wants so desperately to solve some foreign problem that he was inviting the Taliban to Camp David. This is an organization that refuses to recognize the legitimate government of Afghanistan and will overthrow that government by force if allowed. They also engage in Terrorism and kill civilians routinely.
I knew Trump was dumb, but seriously, inviting the Taliban to Camp David? That's just the high point of this moron's stupid foreign policy moves.
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Trump wants so desperately to solve some foreign problem that he was inviting the Taliban to Camp David. This is an organization that refuses to recognize the legitimate government of Afghanistan and will overthrow that government by force if allowed. They also engage in Terrorism and kill civilians routinely.
I knew Trump was dumb, but seriously, inviting the Taliban to Camp David? That's just the high point of this moron's stupid foreign policy moves.
He was also inviting them to Camp David right around the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. For someone who was supposedly at Ground Zero helping clear the rubble, you'd think the symbolism of that date wouldn't be lost on him.
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Were any civilians murdered because of Trump? (Score:2)
Basically a "Hear, hear" reply and a wish that I had a mod point to give you.
However, you didn't mention all the extra deaths Trump has caused in those "shithole countries". [New presidential language, not profanity.] Here's a recent link:
https://www.latimes.com/politi... [latimes.com]
Too bad I can't read the details. Maybe Trump is "winning" by helping to cause the paywalling of all of the real news? Maybe this link to the [evil] google's cached version will work for you? https://webcache.googleusercon... [googleusercontent.com]
And yes, I deli
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For all his other many many faults Trump has been exceptionally hesitant to use military force and instead favoring diplomacy.
That's because there have been few reasons for us to use force that would directly benefit Russia.
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Re:Drain the Swamp (Score:5, Informative)
Exactly. Trump shows no evidence of carefully considering thoughtful input from anyone ever, or even knowing whom to ask for such input. Most likely, ether he saw Bolton TV kissing up or a close family member did. It is conceivable that there are those around Trump savvy enough to manipulate him by sending a link to a choice video clip, too.
Fellating Trump on TV is a pretty good way to get an appointment these days. It really does not take much more than that.
The rest was nothing more than "I feel it in my gut, he has the right kind of angry tough, oh baby, oh baby, do not stop". Guess what happens when work has to get done and there is no more time for pleasuring the CinC? Trump gets bored and wants a different whore.
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I thought everybody knew that Bolton was put forward by Adelson. He paid like 180 million to the Gop in 2016 and 2017.
Re:Drain the Swamp (Score:4, Funny)
Trump did drain the swamp. He just never said what he'd do with what was in the swamp. End result is instead of all those deals being done behind closed doors, they're being done out in the open.
Instead of hiding the corruption, he's just broadcasting it for the world to see.
Well, that, and revealing classified information - the world got a great glimpse of what kind of satellite imagery the US can get, well beyond what's available commercially, and always heavily classified by every nation, until now.
Prevent walruses! Re:Drain the Swamp (Score:2)
Okay, it deserves the funny mod, but I'm still disappointed.
Where are the walrus jokes?
P..S. No insult intended to the walruses, but still... I insist that I like a walrus as much as the next Slashdotter.
P.P.S. It's not like I'm baiting?
P.P.P.S. What else do walruses eat? And does Bolton like his oysters raw or cooked? Inquiring minds want to know (how to protect #PresidentTweety).
Disagreement is not tolerated (Score:5, Insightful)
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He certainly is brash and pig-headed, more so than most people at least. But don't mistake being agreeable with being effective. If you convince yourself that because you don't know enough that you should always trust your advisers, you make yourself subject to their beliefs which may not be any more correct than your own or contain motives that you cannot plainly see.
James Baker knew how to run a White House. He could get Reagan to make key decisions and delegate authority. He and Nancy had a decent ear for who was trustworthy. Nancy, unsurprisingly, was not up to the task of managing her husband's uneven health after the shooting, with Baker's help.
I may despise much of what was "accomplished" but I respect a certain kind of basic competence.
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I don't particularly like Trump, but he does seem less inclined to get the U.S. involved in overseas conflict to a larger degree than Obama and Bush
I won't defend Obama (and certainly not Bush), but if you are saying that withdrawing from the Iran deal, vetoing congress in order to continue war in Yemen etc actions from someone "less inclined" to get the US involved in conflict, you have some strange logic.
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"They just stole it." (Score:3, Insightful)
These are weapons of war we're talking about here -- you expect another country to respect patent rights? Are you fucking shitting me? Armies have been "stealing" each others' technology as fast as they can reverse engineer it (or otherwise obtain the method) as long as there have been technological gaps in warfare. The best you can ever hope for is a moment of surprise when something is first deployed, and the F-35 is so not secret it's not even funny.
I think the real reason Bolton got fired though is he probably dared to tell Doctor Smallglove that releasing the satellite photo of the Iranian test failure was unacceptable.
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Bolton isn't just bluster - he fantasizes about bathing in the ashes of ruined nations.
Like it or not, Trump has been far more anti-War than Obama. The liberal anti-war Democrats are confused and bewildered, while the TDS leftists now find themselves as war hawks simply to be contrary to Trump.
Re:"They just stole it." (Score:5, Interesting)
Based on what I've read/seen on the F-35 (Score:3)
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And when they try to deploy, we'll use a MacBook to insert a virus into their network and cause them all to self-destruct.
The Trump administration (Score:4, Insightful)
...is where political careers go to die.
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In Bolton's case we can only hope that's true, but as long as there is a war-happy contingent leading the Republican party he'll almost certainly have a job with connections into the White House.
Distinction without a difference? (Score:4, Interesting)
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"Have your resignation on my desk in the morning" is the DC way.
That Trump announced a firing anyway means he wants Bolton not just gone, but burned to the ground.
Kinda like Bolton does to everybody else, so don't try to look for "the good guy" in this story.
Retire (Score:2)
"You can't fire me!"
"Why?"
"Because I quit!"
From many a comedy scene
Crazy Train is doing 260mph (Score:5, Insightful)
If the boss fires 2/3 of employees they themselves selected, the problem is the boss and not the employees. (It could be both if the boss is also a lousy picker.)
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I'd have added a funny mod for the Subject: if I ever had a mod point to give.
Of course the problem is that ALL Americans are riding the crazy train and we're getting close to the end of the tracks. What happens when #PresidentTweety goes completely off the rails?
What if it's 3/4ths? (Score:3)
Wasn't me (Score:2)
Trump: "I didn't fire him, my Sharpie did it."
An adviser should never be an echo chamber (Score:2)
This doesn't change anything (Score:3)
That turnover! (Score:3)
The turnover in the White House staff is worse than MickeyD's!
Re:That turnover! (Score:4, Insightful)
And the general competence level is considerably lower.
Re:That turnover! (Score:4, Funny)
Garbage in, garbage out :)
Looks like instad of hard evidence? (Score:2)
Earlier this month, Bolton had accused China of stealing US technology to make a stealth fighter. On a visit to Ukraine last month, Bolton said an unnamed fifth-generation aircraft "looks a lot like the F-35, that's because it is the F-35. They just stole it."
Rockets were invented by Chinese [wikipedia.org]. They were long tubes with fire ejecting at one end. All [wikipedia.org] these [wikipedia.org] American [wikipedia.org] rockets [wikipedia.org] look like the Chinese rockets, or with major components look like that [wikipedia.org], therefore I conclude all of those rockets' technologies are stolen from China.
Bolton, offer some real evidence or stop falsifying accusations like you did over Iraq WMDs.
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Silver lining (Score:2)
On the plus side by being fired he can collect unemployment.
Re: That is NOT what Trump said. (Score:2)
Asking for oneâ(TM)s resignation is firing them with giving them the dignity to say they werenâ(TM)t fired..as you are trying to say.
But, if Bolton didnâ(TM)t tender his resignation, heâ(TM)d have been shown the door.
Yes he was fired (Score:3)
Trump did NOT say he fired Bolton. He said he asked for his resignation. They are not the same thing
That's how high level officials are fired. The are "asked" for their resignation but make no mistake that it is the same thing as being fired. It's just the polite way to do it.
Re:Two things can be true you know (Score:4, Interesting)
It's news that helps prevent wars. It is news that matters. I was not aware, my Google News feed had not mentioned it.
And it is good news. For once.
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It's news that helps prevent wars. It is news that matters. I was not aware, my Google News feed had not mentioned it.
And it is good news. For once.
How does the nature of Bolton's departure help prevent a war?
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Bolton might well have offered up his resignation, at the same time Trump decided he needed to let Bolton go. But really, who cares, and WHY is this on Slashdot???
This is not news fo nerds, it's news for wonks.
Because if Bolton had successfully lobbied for a ground invasion of Iran, some people around here might have found themselves running through the Iranian country side along side of a tank under heavy machine-gun and artillery fire? There are geeks in national guard too, the National Guard is not staffed wall to wall by jocks and high school dropouts.
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