During the 2016 campaign, then-Candidate Trump distinguished himself because he rejected the failed status-quo policies of the post-9/11 world. His anti-establishment message resonated strongly with Americans and catapulted him to the White House.
Trump's selection on Thursday of John Bolton to succeed H.R. McMaster as National Security Advisor is a step in the wrong direction, as Bolton is as status-quo as they come.
You can say one thing for the former UN Ambassador, however: he has been consistent throughout his career. Consistently wrong, that is. In 1998, Bolton was one of 25 co-authors who published an open letter to President Clinton advocating for the overthrow of Saddam Hussein.
Because it would be too difficult to confirm whether or not Iraq was genuinely disbanding its WMD program, Bolton's letter warned, "in the not-too-distant future we will be unable to determine with any reasonable level of confidence whether Iraq does or does not possess such weapons."
As a consequence, the authors said the president must show "a willingness to undertake military action as diplomacy is clearly failing."