John Bolton Unabashedly Peddles Islamophobic Fake News
Anyone remotely interested in following American foreign policy knows John Bolton has the reputation for being one of the most unrepentant jingoists in modern political history. The Republican politician and lawyer served during George Bush's regime as the American ambassador to the United Nations, and is considered one of the most unhinged hawks in American politics by leading foreign policy analysts. On top of a war-glorifying métier, Bolton chairs the Islamophobic Gatestone Institute, a nonprofit publisher founded by Sears Roebuck heiress Nina Rosenwald.
Gatestone Institute has a reputation for propagating baseless myths about an imaginary Islamic takeover of the West. Some of the Bolton-chaired institute's articles include false claims about "no-go zones" in Europe established by Muslim immigrants and claims about a nonexistent rape epidemic orchestrated by Muslim men. Time and again, the fact-checking website Snopes has repeatedly debunked fake articles and videos from Gatestone Institute. Now the man who chairs the fear-mongering nonprofit will offer his expertise to Donald Trump after the president declared General H.R. McMaster would step down from his role as a national security adviser.
Bolton's name causes apprehension for several key reasons. In addition to being a Fox News favorite, Bolton has written diatribes on initiating attacks on North Korea and bombing Iran, op-eds that were published by the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times respectively. In 1994, Bolton—who opposes the existence of the United Nations—joked about eliminating the top 10 stories of the U.N. building in New York City. During Bush's administration, Bolton advocated for and cheered on invading and occupying Iraq. In 2002, he called for launching attacks on Cuba for nonexistent biological weapons.
Libertarian Cato Institute's Christopher Preble told Vox he wouldn't trust Bolton with catching a dog, much less working in the capacity of national security adviser to Trump, a role Bolton will officially start in April.
