Discredited Neocon John Bolton Calls on Obama to Push for 'Regime Change' in Iran

Posted by Ben Armbruster, Think Progress at 9:38 AM on January 2, 2009.

Earlier this week famed war hawk John Bolton said that the recent crisis in Gaza presents the perfect opportunity for the U.S. and Israel to bomb Iran. Today, Bolton took to the Wall Street Journal op-ed pages to re-emphasize his desire for war with Iran.

Bolton said he fears the new Obama administration's Iran and North Korea policies would center on diplomacy, which he says will not end "proliferation threats from Pyongyang and Tehran." While part of his solution oddly calls for more diplomacy with North Korea (in this case it would be the Chinese conducting it), Bolton then urges Obama to start the process of "regime change" in Iran:

Iran and North Korea achieved their objectives through diplomacy. Mr. Bush failed to achieve his. How can Mr. Obama do better? For starters, he could increase the pressure on China, which has real leverage over North Korea, to press Kim Jong Il's regime in ways that the six-party talks never approached. Options on Iran are more limited, but meaningful efforts at regime change and assisting Israel should it decide to strike Iran's nuclear facilities would be good first steps.

Tagged as: iran, israel, obama, john bolton, regime change

Benjamin J. Armbruster is a Research Associate for The Progress Report and ThinkProgress.org at the Center for American Progress.