Despite the Fox News doom and gloom about how the negotiated return of 10 U.S. sailors “emboldened” Iran for more aggression, that country just released five U.S. prisoners today. So, naturally, Fox wasted little time looking for excuses to gripe about that, too.
So who better to dig up, if you want to make sure to find some s*** in there somewhere, than John Bolton, the chickenhawk who’s been salivating for war against Iran for years?
Just in case Bolton didn’t get the hint, anchor Kelly Wright began the discussion by saying that “obviously” the families are “ecstatic” at the prisoners’ release and that the White House “calls it a diplomatic victory” but, Wright added, “yet outside of the administration, many say the president capitulated to the Iranians by releasing seven Iranian prisoners, the White House says it was a good will gesture. How do you describe the situation, as a former ambassador?”
Of course, Bolton said just what he was booked to say:
BOLTON: Well, it’s obviously wonderful for the American hostages and their families but it’s a diplomatic debacle for the United States. Remember, it’s not just seven Iranians who are being released. The other 14 who would have been charged for sanctions violations – one was accused of cyber attacks – the math here is roughly 21 Iranians in exchange for four, maybe it’s five, Americans. That’s not exactly high-powered negotiation. But even worse, and I think this is the key point, the Americans weren’t prisoners in Iran, they were hostages.
…To say that victims of terrorism are the equivalent of criminals or alleged criminals gives Iran an enormous victory and again, while I certainly understand the happiness of the families involved, the question for the U.S. government is always in this situation, are we simply incentivizing Iran to take further hostages and are we incentivizing other governments or terrorist groups around the world to do the same? And I’m afraid that’s the conclusion they’ll draw, that the United States will deal for hostages. Now the price is gonna go up.
Wright pressed for more, asking Bolton what his “concerns” and “suspicions” are “moving forward.”
BOLTON: They’ve been doing it for 36 years… because successive American governments have not been willing to make it clear to them that we do not accept Americans being taken hostage as an act of terrorism, we won’t deal with this regime and the cost to them is gonna be high. I think the administration is so desperate to keep this nuclear deal on track, it’s a wonder the Iranians didn’t get even more money or more assets or more in exchange for these four Americans.
…The cost may be more Americans taken, either by Iran or by others down the road.
By the way, in September, 2008, Bolton predicted that if then-candidate Barack Obama was elected president, it would be just a matter of time before Iran obtained a nuclear bomb because "we've exhausted the diplomatic option."
Watch it below, from today’s coverage:
“They all want war.”
Indeed they do Steve — as mj brilliantly pointed out earlier, “Talking Toilet Brush” John Bolton, Sean KKKlannity, Bully O’Lielly and the rest of their PFC (Privileged Fascist Chickenhawk) colleagues at Faux Spews will ALWAYS, ALWAYS be gung ho for war — as long as not a single one of THEIR military aged loved ones are the ones getting shot at, crippled, maimed or KILLED!
Oh, such a treat! The curvy couch bobble-heads just announced John Bolton is coming up to trash the hostage swap.
This is going to be the right-wing Fox News meme of the day.
I knew a guy who lied about his age and got into the Vietnam War right near the end. From one of his stories, it sure does sound like he was present at a fragging even though he didn’t witness it. His brother veterans didn’t share his enthusiasm for volunteering.
The point is, even if Mr. bomb em back to the stone age Bolton had experienced a small taste of war he wouldn’t be the cartoon Rambo he is.
Bolton supported the Vietnam War, enlisted in the Maryland Army National Guard and consequently did not serve in Vietnam. He wrote in his Yale 25th reunion book “I confess I had no desire to die in a Southeast Asian rice paddy. I considered the war in Vietnam already lost.” In an interview, Bolton discussed his comment in the reunion book, explaining that he decided to avoid service in Vietnam because “by the time I was about to graduate in 1970, it was clear to me that opponents of the Vietnam War had made it certain we could not prevail, and that I had no great interest in going there to have Teddy Kennedy give it back to the people I might die to take it away from.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_R.Bolton#Early_life_andeducation
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_R._Bolton
Hey, Johnny Boy — since you think the release of American hostages held by Iran for years was a “diplomatic debacle”, simply because it occurred under an African American Democratic President (I wonder if it was a “debacle” when the hostages were freed minutes after Raygun’s inauguration), and since you seem so fond of Iranian terrorist groups . . . how ‘bout next time an Iranian or other ME terrorist group takes Americans hostage, we’ll just offer to exchange you for them?
It’ll be a win all around: you get to go over and PERSONALLY express your admiration to these groups, we get Americans back on our soil, and we’ll no longer be subject to the rantings of a warmongering, rightwingnut POS like you . . .
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All you heard for the last year and a half was how much he hated America and didn’t care about these prisoners!
Now we find out the USA has been involved in sensitive behind the scenes talks for the last 14 month’s to get them back!!!
Do you think Faux will apologize?
I don’t think so!! LOL