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Rabat – US President Donald Trump has fired his senior national security adviser John Bolton. The adviser’s dismissal comes a year and a half after his appointment.
Trump announced his decision on Tuesday, September 9. He wrote on Twitter that he informed Bolton that his services are “no longer needed” at the White House.
“I informed John Bolton last night that his services are no longer needed at the White House. I disagreed strongly with many of his suggestions, as did others in the Administration, and therefore I asked John for his resignation, which was given to me this morning,” Trump wrote.
I informed John Bolton last night that his services are no longer needed at the White House. I disagreed strongly with many of his suggestions, as did others in the Administration, and therefore….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 10, 2019
Trump added that he will appoint a new National Security Advisor next week.
The New York Times said that Trump’s move is motivated by Bolton’s confrontational view on Iran and North Korea. Meanwhile, Trump’s administration is trying to normalize diplomatic ties with the two countries.
Read Also: ‘The Bolton Effect’: Will US’s ‘Impatient’ John Bolton Broker Western Sahara’s Stalemate?
Bolton, on the other hand, believes that both Iran and North Korea are not “trustworthy.”
“The rift between the president and his national security adviser owed as much to personality as to policy. The president never warmed to him, a dynamic that is often fatal in this White House. Mr. Bolton also clashed with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo,” the New York Times wrote.
Trump appointed Bolton in April 2018.
In addition to his stance on Iran and North Korea, Bolton is also seen as pro-Polisario voice in the continued conflict between the separatist group and Morocco. Bolton supports self-determination and referendum for the region, which is against Morocco’s sovereignty over the region.
“When I got the UN in 2005-2006 , again we tried to fix … all what we wanna do is hold a referendum for 70,000 voters . 27 years later the status of the territory is still unresolved,” Bolton said last year at a Washington, D.C., event.
Expressing frustration that the conflict has not yet ended, Bolton also criticized UN peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara, known as MINURSO.“Ladies and gentlemen, 27 years of deployment of this peacekeeping force, 27 years and it’s still there? How can you justify that? I have got to know over the years the Saharawi people, I have enormous respect for them, I have enormous respect for the government and people of Morocco and Algeria, is there not a way to resolve it?”
Since his appointment, Bolton has sought to leave his personal imprimatur on the Western Sahara conflict by putting unprecedented pressure on Morocco, Algeria and the Polisario to engage in negotiations which would force a simple resolution to the complex, and long-lasting conflict. The decision of the Security Council in April, October 2018 and April 2019 to renew MINURSO’s mandate for six months only, as opposed to the historically approved one year term, was Bolton’s way of conveying his displeasure with the UN-led political process. He hoped to push the parties into showing genuine willingness to move the political process forward.
Algeria has sought to benefit from Bolton’s presence at the highest level of the US administration and thwart all the progress Morocco has achieved in recent years. To garner support for its position on the conflict Algeria hired right-wing lobbyist, and Bolton’s longtime friend, David Keene.
But the $30,000 a month contract that Algeria signed with Keene has failed so far to yield the expected outcome. With Bolton’s sudden departure, it remains to be seen whether Algeria will keep Keene on its payroll.
