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Independent journalist, historian and author Gareth Porter returns to talk about John Bolton’s appointment as Trump’s third national security advisor, and the real risk of war he brings to the new Trump-Pompeo-Bolton troika.Porter wrote the definitive book on Iran’s nuclear intentions, Manufactured Crisis, and in anticipation of Bolton’s appointment, he reviewed the record of the former Bush II advisor on Iran in this article for the American Conservative.
Porter details Bolton’s role in the Bush/Cheney regime change program that has left Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria in shambles, and PBC quotes from Bolton’s fellow neocon, Max Boot, who slammed Bolton in an op-ed (no longer found on the WashPo website)where Boot admitted some of his own errors regarding Iraq but Bolton is unapologetic.
Porter thumbnails his reporting on Iran in his book, and explains how Bolton used phony memos and misleading intelligence photos to try to provoke Iran into conflict in close alliance with Israel’s Mossad.
We also touch on Bolton’s dangerous views on North Korea, embracing a first strike by the US that could quickly kill hundreds of thousands of people. We also note his patrons, Sheldon Adelson and Robert Mercer, who were major donors to Trump and have extreme foreign policy views that are based on Israel’s agenda. Porter raises concerns that the new Trump team is suborning US policy in a way that could be treasonous.