Bolton’s appointment 'a disaster for our country': Jimmy Carter

Rasa - US President Donald Trump may have made “one of the worst mistakes” of his tenure by appointing John Bolton as his national security adviser, according to former President Jimmy Carter.

News ID: 437021

Date: 28 March 2018 - 23:12

RNA - In an interview with USA TODAY on Monday, Carter described Bolton as “a warlike figure” who supports catastrophic policies.

“Maybe one of the worst mistakes that President Trump has made since he’s been in office is his employment of John Bolton, who has been advocating a war with North Korea for a long time and even an attack on Iran, and who has been one of the leading figures on orchestrating the decision to invade Iraq,” Carter said.

The 93-year-old former president went on to call the appointment “a disaster for our country.”

President Trump announced Gen. H.R. McMaster's replacement on Thursday, making Bolton -- a former US ambassador to the United Nations -- his third national security adviser, part of a shake-up that creates one of the most hawkish national security teams of any White House in recent history.

According to Press TV, some analysts have said that the appointment of Bolton as US national security adviser indicates that the Trump administration plans to escalate hostilities towards Iran.

Shortly before the US and its allies invaded Iraq in 2003, Bolton reportedly told Israeli officials that once Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was removed, it would be necessary to deal with Syria, Iran and North Korea.

Foreign policy experts say Bolton is likely to encourage President Trump toward military confrontation with Iran.

Bolton has also called on Washington to withdraw from the 2015 nuclear agreement with the Islamic Republic, even though UN inspectors have repeatedly verified Iran’s compliance with the accord.

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