Portrait of John Bolton
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John Bolton on Iraq War

Strong advocate for invasion (strong)

TL;DR

John Bolton has no regrets regarding the decision to launch the Iraq War and removing Saddam Hussein from power.

Key Points

  • He was a signatory to a 1998 letter urging President Bill Clinton to use diplomatic, political, and military power to remove Saddam Hussein.

  • He believes the ultimate objective of the invasion was to prevent Saddam Hussein from acquiring weapons of mass destruction.

  • In 2007, he suggested the only mistake was not leaving Iraq sooner after Saddam's overthrow to tell Iraqis, "Good luck."

Summary

John Bolton, an architect of the decision to overthrow Saddam Hussein, maintains he has no doubts that launching the 2003 Iraq invasion was the correct course of action. He argued that the primary justification for regime change was Saddam Hussein's failure to comply with ceasefire terms following the First Gulf War, particularly regarding the disabling of his Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) programs, and to eliminate the ongoing threat of WMD proliferation to terrorist groups. He views the removal of Saddam as a success that eliminated this threat in perpetuity, distinguishing the initial invasion from subsequent post-war administration mistakes.

He considers the post-invasion period as conceptually and functionally separable from the initial decision to invade, suggesting that later instability does not negate the logic of the regime change itself. Furthermore, he expressed regret that the United States stopped too soon after the initial military success, suggesting the opportunity should have been used to also seek regime change in Iran. His stance reflects a consistent hawkish foreign policy leaning toward preemptive military action when he perceives a threat to American national security.

Key Quotes

Knowing everything I know now, I would do exactly the same thing.

Frequently Asked Questions

John Bolton was a strong advocate for and is considered an architect of the 2003 Iraq War, supporting the decision to remove Saddam Hussein. He maintains he has no regrets about the invasion, arguing it was necessary to eliminate the threat of Iraqi WMDs.

No, John Bolton has consistently defended his support for the 2003 invasion, even years later. He stated in 2023 that knowing what he knows now, he would do exactly the same thing.

Bolton has stated that the biggest error made by the Bush administration in Iraq was stopping too soon after regime change. He regretted not using the opportunity presented by the invasion to also seek regime change in Iran.