James Mattis has led Donald Trump’s campaign to destroy ISIS.
Conservatives regard Mattis as one of Trump’s All-Star cabinet appointments.
But Mattis just dropped a bombshell announcement that will leave you speechless.
Conservatives cheered when Donald Trump hired John Bolton as his National Security Advisor.
Bolton – who is a fierce opponent of Barack Obama’s Iran nuclear deal – is set to fire Deep State leakers on the National Security Council and sees it as his job to present President Trump with all available options, not just the ones the foreign policy establishment approves of.
But Mattis leaked word to the press that he is not sure he can work with Bolton.
The Hill reports:
“Defense Secretary James Mattis has told colleagues he’s unsure if he can work with John Bolton, President Trump’s new pick for national security adviser, The New York Times reported.
Mattis reportedly told staffers he would find it difficult to work with Bolton prior to Trump’s announcement last Thursday that Bolton would replace H.R. McMaster.
Bolton is said to be an unpopular pick with both Mattis and White House chief of staff John Kelly.
The president tweeted last Thursday evening that Bolton, the hawkish former George W. Bush administration official, will take over for McMaster on April 9.”
Bolton has been criticized for his past support of pre-emptive military strikes against Iran and North Korea.
But Axios’ Jonathan Swan reports that Bolton does not see his new role as one to advocate for new wars, but to enforce Trump’s policy preferences.
Axios reports:
John Bolton knows he’s being portrayed as a warmonger as he becomes national security adviser, but he’s trying to build internal credibility with a more studied, lower-decibel approach, according to people familiar with his thinking.
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Bolton’s forest of op-eds trumpet his hawkish views. But my sources say that at least at the outset, Bolton plans to rein those in — aiming to be seen more as an honest broker for the war cabinet, and less as blatant advocate.
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“When the president makes a decision, obviously the principals on the National Security Council are supposed to carry it out,” one source familiar with Bolton’s thinking told me. “But it’s the job of the national security adviser to be the enforcer and to make sure that it happens.”
But are these fears overblown?
Trump is still the one calling the shots.
And he has so far resisted the establishment’s call for a wider ground war in Syria and settled on a decision to send fewer troops into Afghanistan.
His America First instincts still set him against calls for more American military engagement abroad.
And unlike McMaster – who was seen as a globalist who actively worked against the President’s policies – Bolton has long supported America First agenda items such as questioning international institutions and deals like the Iran nuclear agreement and Barack Obama’s Paris global warming accords.
Do you think Mattis and Bolton will be able to work together?
Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.