Trump Discussed Easing Iran Sanctions, Prompting Bolton Pushback

[demmiblue]

Source: Bloomberg

President Donald Trump discussed easing sanctions on Iran to help secure a meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani later this month, prompting then-National Security Advisor John Bolton to argue forcefully against such a step, according to three people familiar with the matter.

After an Oval Office meeting on Monday when the idea came up, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin voiced his support for the move as a way to restart negotiations with Iran, some of the people said. Later in the day, Trump decided to oust Bolton, whose departure was announced Tuesday.

The White House has started preparations for Trump to meet with Rouhani this month in New York on the sidelines of the annual United Nations General Assembly the week of Sept. 23, according to the people. It’s far from clear if the Iranians would agree to talks while tough American sanctions remain in place.

One scenario, shared by two of the people, would be that Trump joins a meeting between Rouhani and French President Emmanuel Macron. The people said they had no indication it would actually happen.

Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-11/trump-rouhani-meeting-odds-improve-after-john-bolton-s-exit

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[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Spanky thinks he can solve everything by meeting and doing deals.

What actually happens is that he gives dictators legitimacy and they give him nothing but a photo-op in return. He's the world's worst deal-maker. I never thought I'd find myself agreeing with John Bolton, but he was certainly right about not inviting the fucking Taliban to Camp David.

I'm convinced that Spanky really thought he could do a deal with them and he'd be photographed shaking hands with those thugs on 9/11 and the Nobel Peace Prize would be express-shipped to him the same day.

[hedda_foil]

3. What you said!

[empedocles]

5. bolton probably disagreed with almost all of traitortrump's nutjob foreign affairs 'ventures'.

Or should the word be 'conjectures'.

[Polybius]

6. Bolton is 1,000 times worse than Trump

There has never been a bigger warmonger working for a President (Paul Wolfowitz ties him). He pressed Trump for war in Iran, Venezuela, and other places.

Just Thank God that Trump didn't agree and listen to him. We'd be at war with Iran if he did.

[empedocles]

8. Agree bolton is a warmonger terror. Against Venezuela trump tried and failed undercover. [Not

willing to risk the 'trump brand' too openly.

Iran is a more complicated target. trump's Iran war reluctance has to do with avoiding direct responsibility - to protect the trump 'brand'.

traitortrump desperately wants a war somewhere - and may see one next year.

[Polybius]

11. I will agree to disagree

I hate Trump as much as anyone here because he's a racist, incompetent moron who embarrasses the nation. However, I don't think he's a warmongering chickenhawk neo-con, nor do I believe that he wants a war. He's been attacking W on his Iraqi war since a few months after it started.

[empedocles]

12. Not that far apart

We agree on trump's basic character. Agree he's not a neo-con [doesn't have any depth or brain capacity to be one]

I do believe he wants a war for extended power, war appeal for 'con base, help re-election - he just hasn't figured out how have a war he can take credit for without the risk of being labeled a loser. [Venezuela example. All for armed war there, instigated it, but escaped most of the blame for failure at the public level].

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

14. Bolton is an extreme interventionist, while Dolt 45,

to the extent he has any ideology at all, is an extreme isolationist - not just America First but America Alone. Both points of view are very bad, stupid and dangerous and would inevitably lead to conflict; it's just that Bolton's approach would have done it sooner. Obviously Trump never should have appointed Bolton in the first place, but he liked his belligerent tough-guy attitude when he saw him on Fox (though not the mustache so much), and that's all he thinks about when he considers appointing someone: What's their TV image? But Bolton really is a belligerent, combative asshole who won't take orders from anybody, which meant that irrespective of ideology he wouldn't last in Trump's administration because Trump does not suffer disagreement, ever, from anybody.

[tanyev]

10. Hey! He's gotten some beautiful letters that said very nice things about him.

That makes it alllll worth it.

[poli-junkie]

2. It's what pootie wants. nt

[Gothmog]

4. The Iran deal was a good deal and trump was an idiot in getting out of it

[riversedge]

7. "meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani"---so, Trump wanted Another PhotoOP with a thug!

[Maxheader]

9. Whats to discuss?

Stumpy gonna make iran stop funding the fundys around the world?

[ffr]

13. tRump and Mitch are just twerps.

We are not safe.