The world is worried about Mr. Trump's new national security adviser.
President Donald Trump's decision to name John Bolton as his national security adviser has left even the most calm of diplomats on the edge of their seats.
John Bolton does not need Senate confirmation to become national security adviser. The new position allows him to be closer to Mr. Trump than other positions such as Secretary of Defense or Secretary of State, which require a nod in the Senate - Photo: REUTERS
Mr. John Bolton - former US ambassador to the United Nations under President George W. Bush, will replace the role of 3-star combat-experienced general H. R McMaster in the West Wing of the White House.
"There was a little bit of concern," a South Korean official told CNN, while Japan's foreign minister admitted "there was a little surprise."
Meanwhile, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham praised Mr. Trump's decision: "The choice of Mr. John Bolton to become the US national security advisor is good news for America's allies and bad news for Washington's enemies."
However, the way US allies received the new information, just 10 days after Mr. Rex Tillerson was fired as Secretary of State, shows that they did not entirely see it as good news.
Two extremes
There are two ways people will react to recent developments in the Trump administration, including Mike Pompeo's nomination as secretary of state and Gina Haspel taking over as CIA director.
The first sentiment centers on the belief that President Trump is trying to complete a cabinet, what he calls a “dream government.”
It means the new figures will let Trump be Trump, will not step in and restrain him like Tillerson or H.R.McMaster who left. More importantly, Bolton, Pompeo and Haspel share the same worldview as the president.
The second mentality seems more pessimistic and anyone with this mentality would advise you to start digging a bomb shelter in your yard.
To them, the rise of the Bolton-Pompeo-Haspel trio is the rise of a force ready to tear up the Iran Nuclear Deal, restart secret torture programs and worse, start a war with North Korea. To them, this trio can be summed up in two words: "hawks".
While Ms. Haspel remains an unknown to the public, Mr. Pompeo’s three terms as a senator have shown him to be a hardliner, advocating for preemptive strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities even as international negotiations are underway.
Those two men, combined with Mr. Bolton's past statements, make one wonder if President Trump is surrounded by a group with an extremely hardline approach to shaping America's foreign policy.
There is no such thing as the United Nations. There is only something called the international community, which is sometimes led by the real world power, the United States, when it suits our interests, when we can bring other countries along.
US National Security Advisor John Bolton with his famous quote in 1994
Who should worry first?
Which should be the United Nations (UN) or countries like North Korea and Iran? The answer is probably both.
National Security Adviser Bolton alone, a position that does not require Senate confirmation, is enough to give strategists a headache. The trio of Bolton, Pompeo, and Haspel will significantly change America's image on the international stage, at least until they are dismissed or until Trump's term ends.
President George W Bush listens to John Bolton's speech after nominating him to be the US Ambassador to the United Nations. In fact, Mr. Bolton never received the approval of the US Senate to officially take this position. Disagreements between the two parties in the Senate and Mr. Bolton's personal statements about the UN delayed the confirmation. Everything ended when Mr. Bolton announced his resignation from the UN in December 2006, emphasizing that he would not continue to seek Senate approval - Photo: AFP
Mr. Richard Gowan, an analyst at Columbia University (USA), commented that "the UN is about to face significant difficulties" when Mr. Bolton becomes US National Security Advisor.
The Trump administration has already slashed budget contributions to the UN and scaled back peacekeeping missions, but under Bolton's direction, things could get even worse.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric, who had previously pushed back against Mr Bolton's criticism in 2006, now stressed that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had a "very positive and constructive" relationship with former national security adviser HRMcMaster and hoped "to continue that relationship with the new person".
"We will leave the analysis of Bolton's past statements to journalists and historians. We do not speculate about the future, we deal with the present," Mr. Dujarric now deftly dodged the issue when asked to comment on Bolton's past criticisms of the UN.
Reactions across the Middle East have been mixed. For Israel, Bolton’s new role is welcome news, a man who has long opposed a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Mr. Bolton will begin his new role on April 9, about a month before the May 12 deadline that Mr. Trump has set for Europe to renew the nuclear deal with Iran in a way that he deems reasonable.
