Neocon John Bolton, the former security adviser to President Donald J. Trump, is furious about President-elect Donald J. Trump’s Director of National Intelligence pick, Tulsi Gabbard, following the fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria. Bolton alleged on Sunday that Gabbard has “an inclination to believe the most outrageous propaganda against the United States by some of its strongest enemies,” claiming there are “serious questions about her judgment.”
Trump transition spokesman Alexa Henning dismissed Bolton as “irrelevant,” saying, “him saying he would write in Dick Cheney for president this year should tell you everything you need to know about his disastrous and failed foreign policy instincts of never-ending wars and more American deaths.”
Bolton has cheerleaded for every major U.S. war for decades, steadfastly supporting the disastrous Iraq War in 2003. He has actively opposed President Trump since Trump fired him from his role as National Security Adviser in 2019.
Despite being an avid war enthusiast, Bolton avoided serving in the Vietnam War—which he supported—in his youth, stating he “had no desire to die in a southeast Asian rice paddy.”
By contrast, Tulsi Gabbard served in the Iraq War and is still a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve. She has been a vocal critic of foreign conflicts, including the escalation against Russia in Ukraine.
The former Democrat congresswoman met with Assad in 2017 after it had become evident that many of the rebels opposing him were jihadists. Notably, she expressed skepticism over claims that the Syrian leader had used chemical weapons during the country’s civil war. Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) whistleblowers have also cast doubt over the evidence for these alleged chemical attacks.
Gabbard describes neoconservative critics such as John Bolton and Dick Cheney as “warmongers.”
Jack Montgomery contributed to this report.
