McMaster out, Bolton in as National Security Adviser by Jonathan Swan @ Axios.com, 27 min. ago

[....] Bottom line, from Axios' Jonathan Swan: This isn’t about ideology — unlike Trump, Bolton is hawkish and interventionist on foreign policy. This is about personal chemistry. 

Bolton is a veteran of the Reagan and both Bush administrations and a prominent neoconservative. One area where he and Trump contrast sharply is the Iraq War — Trump has called the war a "huge mistake" while Bolton insists it was the correct move.

While both are outspoken opponents of the Iran nuclear deal, Bolton has gone so far as to call for Iran to be bombed. He also wrote a WSJ op-ed last month headlined, The Legal Case for Striking North Korea First.

Though his time in the White House was far from smooth, McMaster is leaving on better terms than his predecessor, Michael Flynn, who was fired for lying about his contacts with Russia's ambassador to the U.S. and has since pleaded guilty in the Mueller probe.

Gen. H.R. McMaster Statement: [....]

I don't know what it means, but there it is.

Julian Borger @ TheGuardian.com, March 23:  John Bolton: foreign policy radical who backs war with Iran and North Korea

Trump’s new national security adviser will drive the White House down a more confrontational road in two crucial regions

Donald Trump has hired an unwavering and radical advocate of war against both North Korea and Iran to oversee his administration’s national security policy.

John Bolton has made a career of deriding diplomacy as a sign of weakness, and has disparaged both the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, and even the current administration’s use of sanctions as means of pressuring the North Korean regime to give up its nuclear arsenal.

Instead, the soon-to-be national security adviser has repeatedly argued, nuclear disarmament in both cases is best achieved through regime change delivered by US military might.

“A close look shows he’s genuinely one of the most extreme, irresponsible, and dangerous voices in the country,” said Adam Mount, a senior fellow and nuclear weapons policy expert at the Federation of American Scientists [....]

And Robert Mackey @ TheIntercept.com, March 23:

Here’s John Bolton Promising Regime Change in Iran by the End of 2018

[....] Rob Malley, who coordinated Middle East policy in the Obama administration, observed that Bolton’s appointment, along with the nomination of Iran deal critic Mike Pompeo as secretary of state, seemed to signal that the agreement would most likely be “dead and buried” within months. Trita Parsi, leader of the National Iranian American Council wrote on Twitter: “People, let this be very clear: The appointment of Bolton is essentially a declaration of war with Iran. With Pompeo and Bolton, Trump is assembling a WAR CABINET.”

Their alarm was understandable. Bolton has not only demanded that the Trump administration withdraw from the nuclear deal, he also previously advocated bombing Iran instead. Bolton has spent the better part of a decade calling for the United States to help overthrow the theocratic government in Tehran and hand power to a cult-like group of Iranian exiles with no real support inside the country [.....]