John Bolton: Egyptian Democracy May be Bad News
A 2006 file photo of former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton
/ AP Photo/Bebeto MatthewsIt is the "responsibility of our government to protect our interests and our values and our friends and our allies," Bolton said. Referencing former President Theodore Roosevelt, he added that "first and foremost we must make the world safe for ourselves."
Mubarak's fall may end up making America less safe, Bolton said, because in a democracy a radical group like the Muslim Brotherhood may end up in power. He warned of the threat of "rising radicalism in the Middle East" and said Sharia law could soon be imposed on Egypt's citizenry.
"We have to have a careful and prudent approach to these developments, because we've seen revolutionary situations go wrong too many times before," said Bolton, pointing to the Nazis, Hamas and Hezbollah.
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Bolton, who is considering a GOP presidential run, said that democracy is "a way of life," not simply a political system. "We have to acknowledge that a Democratic election can produce illiberal results," he said.
The former ambassador argued that allowing the Muslim Brotherhood to participate in Egyptian elections is putting the country on the "road to disaster," and suggested the Obama administration has been "hesitant, inconsistent, confused and just plain wrong" in its handling of the situation in Egypt.
To a standing ovation from the conservative activists gathered for the conference, Bolton described President Obama as "weak, indecisive and apologetic."
Bolton said he does not believe Mr. Obama cares about foreign policy because it gets in the way of his priority of "nationalizing our health care system." He attacked the Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, for suggesting the Muslim Brotherhood is a largely secular organization, saying the reason he opposes Clapper's resignation is because "in this administration, we could get somebody worse to replace him." Bolton also attacked the administration for its handling of Russia and its passage of the New Start missile treaty.
John Bolton answers questions from reporters at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, Feb. 12, 2011.
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He said that domestic spending and entitlement programs should be cut instead, stating, "A dollar well spent on defense is much more important than a dollar well spent in the agriculture department or the interior department."
Bolton was one of a number of potential Republican presidential candidates to address the conference, a gathering of about 11,000 conservative activists which wraps up Saturday afternoon.
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Has anyone noticed how the countries uprising in the Middle East are US friends? Wake up America. We had better start defunding muslim countries that birth jihadist for WORLD domination, like the Nazis. We will find ourselves in another war soon, if we don't wake up!
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Yep, that would be why one of the largest (and stable) democracies on Earth is 86% Muslims.
And it certainly explains how the number of world democracies AND the Islamic religion are both growing.
Facts, they are such stubborn little things.
You should become more informed about the bill before flouting its merits, which it DOES NOT HAVE.
Now then, I'm trying to think of a policy we could have formulated that would have resulted in Hamas and Hezbollah not taking over. The only thing I can think of is by supporting pro-American leaders who oppose Hamas and Hezbollah.
Is that what you had in mind? No? Then go ahead, share your plan, I'd like to hear it.
In 2006-7 they resisted every attempt to audit Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac, but they, of course, are blameless!
It is the "responsibility of our government to protect our interests and our values and our friends and our allies," Bolton said.
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Herein lies America's problem with the world. In one word "hypocrisy" - either we are the sponsor of Democracy or we ain't. The idea that there exist a muddled-middle-ground where only some people should not be allowed to be free is insane.
You mean like the policy that Obama pursued towards Egypt as opposed to the way he reacted toward Iran in 2009? The thing is, he should have reacted differently in each case, but he screwed up and kept his hands off Iran while mucking about in Egypt's affairs. He got his regimes reversed and failed to support the Iranians while giving the Egyptians moral support. So today we have Mubarek out while Ahmadnejad is still in power. Not the end result I would have expected from a US President.
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Gosh! All that hate coming from Kabul who we all know is a member of the landing party of the Beck-Palin Starship, sent to fatten up our children with Happy Meals for their human harvest.
That is how absurd your stuff sounds - Kabul get a grip or go back to Brazil.