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Amb. Bolton: 'The war on terrorism is far from over'

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    Is the US response appropriate? Ambassador Bolton’s policy prescriptions

  • Duration 7:48
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-- and -- in the studio that by former US ambassador to the UN John Bolton ambassador great to see you at this set time of great trouble and not.

Stress here I guess on foreign policy.

-- to the second of State's comments today what did you make of that statement that we have nothing to do with this movie -- -- -- -- used.

Perhaps as an excuse or perhaps genuine reason for protest in the Middle East we believe in religious tolerance but we also believe in free speech was that the right.

Time to strike -- well it's getting better but I must say I.

Fear of government officials commenting on the kind -- of speech I certainly feared direct government regulation of contents.

But I fear even comments I think you say we believe -- free speech some of it is reprehensible but the remedy for bad speech is more speech that's what we believe.

And then this constant.

Apprehension about what some fruit cake.

One person out of 300 million does as if that's what actually motivated the attacks in Libya and Egypt simply encourages others that movie as bad as I'm sure it is and I had no intention of watching it.

It's nothing but a pretext if it weren't the movie it would have been something.

As we've seen in the Haas -- the that the cartoons published in a Danish newspaper.

The protests that followed that Christian leader down in Florida's suggestions that he would vote in the car on the -- -- have -- The inadvertent burning of the crime on Bagram -- -- in Afghanistan we see these things.

But the problem is once they stop.

They gather pace and as you say more more -- -- we've seen it today in Yemen we see more protests in Egypt.

These these things take on a life of their own want to have -- the initial calls.

Well what we're dealing with here is religious extremism and what they don't like about the United States is we're not religious extremists who think the same way we they do and that's never gonna change so they've got a problem whether one fruit -- produces a movie or 300 million fruitcakes produce -- -- they simply do not accept the United States and I think signals of weakness that we sent and that -- sent over the past three and a half years.

Indicate to them that they can commit these kinds of crimes and atrocities.

And get away with it and I'm very much worried we're right at the edge of the -- here in the Middle East that.

The riots that are spreading today that may spread.

More widely tomorrow.

Could well signal a real shift in the American position in the region and one that we didn't see coming obviously whether that's an intelligence failure not we'll have to see.

We weren't prepared for these two incidents I don't know what else we're not prepared for in the days ahead.

All right so if you sitting with the president.

As secretary of state or national security advisor and -- still not believe you might be one of those things in the future Romney administration if there is what.

Walt would you be saying Mr.

President this is while we must do today.

Well there are two things to different levels the first is that the government's primary responsibility is protect Americans overseas and whatever else you want to say about what happened in Libya and Egypt.

The governments of those two countries manifestly failed in their fundamental obligation to protect American diplomats facilities so I would say publicly.

We expect you to perform.

And privately I say to him and if you don't we're gonna cut off foreign assistance that's one level to protect Americans.

The other is to make it clear that we do not accept that American interest can be trifle with around the region with impunity that we're not gonna tolerate.

The kinds of behavior we've seen in the governments in dealing with.

The at Camp David accords in the case of Egypt in the case of Iran's continued progress toward nuclear weapons support for international terrorism and a range of other activity.

The administration by not speaking out for years now on these basic American interest by.

Misinterpreting.

What's actually happened in the Arab Spring has left this and a deep hole and climbing out of that hole on these broad policy questions should be the top two -- Do we climb out of the hole and -- back all together is there ever an argument that has pulled to rotated we should fall off and as such as George Washington Thomas Jefferson and Alexander.

Hamilton in their advice the USA unilaterally evil countries cut off all ties have them be like Switzerland.

Neutral -- -- foreign affairs and just to trade and business with countries be friendly to everyone this policy of interfering as he puts it.

With -- other countries and diplomatic relations it is un American and anti -- -- team.

-- must stop now it's that's fundamentally wrong it did and it's a completely different environment than them we saw -- the in the early days of the republic.

And you have to react to the circumstances that we face in the world today we have.

Critical national interest in the Middle East not the -- -- which is do you like driving your automobile.

Do you like what you have to put in the tank you like the price that you're paying -- The security of Israel is fundamental us we have a huge range of is it interest.

That we have to advocate and defend and I think our inability our unwillingness to do that in this administration.

Has contributed to the current crisis right.

We have drones on semite in the region.

We have to US navy warships on the way -- the coast of Libya now armed with tomahawk cruise missiles.

If we wanted to get a bead on the guys that we believe carried out the attack on the consulate.

In -- Ghazi and killed four Americans if we know where they should we get one of those missiles straight in the.

Well I wouldn't bother me in the slightest on the other hand I think that the use of the drones as in the case of the Clinton administration the late 1990s the use of those tomahawk cruise missiles.

Gives you a certain satisfaction.

In killing those who have committed these atrocities but on the other hand there's real merit and -- capturing them.

And did not giving them cushy cells in some fancy prison somewhere but interrogating -- find out.

Where they're taking their orders from who their coordinating -- Where the rest of the terror organization is I think one of the things that.

Sadly these assassinations and Libya revealed is that the war on terrorism is far from over.

And we need to be much more aggressive in finding out what the terrorists throughout so that.

That's interesting you say that -- you're suggesting the perhaps for one of about it would be -- -- half of just simple I for a night revenge is not necessarily the best one in the longer term.

Well I think we've got to be selective about this this was an outcropping of terrorism that we obviously were caught unaware we were surprised by whether failure of intelligence or simply believing.

But our diplomats weren't the nine.

Environment where we didn't need the intelligence I'd like to know more.

Where this al-Qaeda is operating al-Qaeda in North Africa I'm sure it's a branch of that but where else are they are they in Cairo -- they infiltrated the Muslim Brotherhood and the so office is part of the morsi regime.

Are they getting assistance from other countries are they being financed even by the -- in Iran for example.

These individuals may not know but they could lead us to other ones I think our intelligence has suffered.

In many respects so I don't I don't mind the death penalty without due process for these people.

But I think in this case getting the intelligence they may have to -- would pay big dividends foreign policy.

At least this kind of crisis likely to remain an issue now right through them everything besides don't tend to go away quickly no I think that's exactly right it's like get Humphrey -- line casts a -- it -- that -- has taken -- hand and you know the question of who.

Among the candidates can provide leadership for America internationally I've long thought should be a bigger issue and whether.

The candidates the politicians are the media like it or not -- the these events in the Middle East I think we've done that all right ambassador John Bolton wonderful to get your perspective as always thank you very much ambassador good to be here that we --

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