[The Federalist] The attacks on former ambassador John Bolton following his appointment as National Security Advisor (NSA) have inadvertently served as some of his strongest endorsements.First there were the hysterical cries of "neocon warmonger!" This would come as news to the NSA-designate, who was never a "liberal mugged by reality" but a self-identified "Goldwater conservative" from the start; explicitly rejects the belief in democracy-building as imperative to achieving America’s national interest under democratic peace theory; and suggests, exaggerating for effect, that following the removal of Saddam Hussein, as soon as practicable he would have told the Iraqis, "You’re on your own. Here’s a copy of the Federalist papers. Good luck."
Although the "neocon warmonger" moniker is inapt, to say the least, maybe it is not such a bad thing if our enemies buy this line. In fact, this may be part of President Trump’s strategic rationale as a dealmaker for elevating a "peace-through-strength" realist portrayed as a cantankerous cowboy to the top of the National Security Council.
Then followed another narrative: Bolton is not only a real-life Dr. Strangelove, but worse. He is actually an adroit bureaucrat‐"crazy and dangerous." Then-senator Joe Biden, a man prone to malapropism, actually put it best when, in Bolton’s retelling, Biden said of him in 2005: "My problem with you, over the years, has been, you’re too competent. I mean, I would rather you be stupid and not very effective."
But the truly revelatory attacks concern Bolton’s positions on Islamic supremacism, which reflect an understanding that jihadists pose a mortal threat that must be countered using every element of national power. You know these attacks are meaningful partly because they have been made under cover of a smear campaign.