- 30 July 2009
- 8 Comments
- Events in Iran, Iran Election 2009, MEK, UN, US-Iran War
John Bolton *still wants to bomb Iran
30 July 2009 Posted By Patrick Disney
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The Daily Show with Jon Stewart last night featured former Bush Administration UN Ambassador John Bolton, who is now a senior fellow at the neoconservative American Enterprise Institute in Washington DC. Bolton has been busy lately, penning op-eds on the need for harsh action against Iran, lest Tehran obtain a nuclear weapon and destroy Israel and the United States.
Aside from his bizarrely enthusiastic support for what he calls “Iranian dissidents” (based on his description, it’s clear he means the MEK), Bolton laments the fact that to this day neither Israel nor the United States has “stepped up” to attack Iran militarily. He tries to depict his recommendation as the product of a rational calculation, and even goes so far as to call his conclusion regrettable; but his eagerness to attack Iran comes across on television as bloodlust, plain and simple.
And as if that weren’t brazen enough (though it did remind us all why we’re not exactly nostalgic for his term at the United Nations), he finished the segment with a flippant comment about how he wishes the United States were the only nuclear-armed country in the world. Our friend Joe Cirincione of the Ploughshares Fund took that one on over at the HuffingtonPost, articulating how Bolton’s joke was as unwise as it was unfunny.
With all the unrest in Iran over the last few weeks, and the disturbing images that have been coming out of the country, at least we can find some comfort in the fact that no one but the most fringe elements in the neoconservative camp take any of these arguments seriously. Small comfort.
8 Responses to “John Bolton *still wants to bomb Iran”
I am not surprised by John Bolton’s statements, after all he epitomizes the very wost US politics can offer. Thankfully there is a diverent attitude now in the Obama administration.
Moron. Citizens spends hours showing their support for these people and this clown has to open his mouth and let that tripe roll out. You’re a real gem of American society Mr. Bolton.
I’m surprised someone with Bolton’s credentials would use South Africa as an example of a nation giving up nuclear weapons as a result of democracy. He probably does not fully grasp the meaning of democracy because the U.S., France, India, Israel, and to a lesser extend the U.K., are all democracies that pursued and currently posses nuclear weapons. Apartheid South Africa was a white democracy. Only when they accepted that they could no longer remain a white democracy did they “voluntarily” give up their nuclear weapons program. In an all inclusive democracy, whites would have been a small minority and this would have put a black run government in charge of nukes.
Mr. Bolton either does not comprehend how racially charged is the South African example, or he believes his objective justifies fabricating false information, both of which clearly demonstrate why he is not and was never fit to lead ANY government office.
More evidence that American foreign policy “experts” have no understanding of the history or culture of others in the world, specifically the ones they claim to have a deep understanding of. I am becoming more of a fan of John Stewart and appreciate his counter arguments to Ambassador Bolton’s comments plus he dialogue with Reza Aslan a few weeks back.
Having John Bolton on the Daily Show is a nice reminder that these people are no longer in power. It’s odd how people like him manage to intentionally ignore the continuing protests and rush to the conclusion that it’s time for a bombing.
Plus the idea that Iranians would just shrug their shoulders after being hit by a strike from Israel. Nothing would derail the protests more than something like that.
By the way, linking directly from thedailyshow.com is better IMO. I can’t see Hulu links where I am (Korea) but the Daily Show works fine.
And in this post and comments we see the pussification of the United States.
Bend over and beg for it. The girly boys over at the HuffPo would love you for it.
Excuse me but no one from the prior Bush administration understood “the meaning of democracy,” they wire taped us and spit on the constitution for eight years. They had a desire to spread their brand of democracy around the word but what they failed to understand is that it already exists. Their brand of democracy exists in China, the former USSR and others to name and few. We need to promote peace and democracy but not a gun point or by dropping bombs.
pathetic…
bolton should just sign a deal with Faux News and get a show like Mike Huckabee. the program could be titled “Bolton and Friends” or “Your World [Bombed] with John Bolton”…
also, he looks like a long lost relative of Mark Twain…
http://www.antiimperialist.com/webroot/PEOPLEdocuments/Membership/Pictures/twain.jpg