The new movie “Vice” purports to tell the story of former US Vice President Dick Cheney’s rise to power and the damage he did to the U.S., other countries, and US standing in the world. Cheney and his cohorts are depicted as ruthless, reckless, and rapacious in their lust for power and in their use of it to reshape US policy to match their vision. My immediate reaction was: “could ‘this’ really happen this way? Wouldn’t those around him refuse, object to, or –like Jim Mattis—resign in protest of such deceitful, possibly illegal maneuvers rather than aid and abet them by their silence? Or did they believe– like he did– that the ends justified the means?”
Whether fact or fiction, the movie raises troubling questions about the security policy of the US government and those who lead it. In particular, could history be repeating itself? This question should be addressed to and by those around and under the influence of John Bolton, the National Security Advisor confirmed only eight months ago.
Bolton is referenced in the movie as being part of the Cheney cabal. Like Cheney he is controversial to say the least. When he was nominated for the powerful post, I wrote that “There is great fear that he will run roughshod over the prevailing system, setting the world alight and leaving a legal and political mess for future generations in the process.” Bolton is an iconoclast –and an extreme American nationalist. He believes that US sovereignty and freedom of action are wrongly constrained by international law, multilateral organizations—especially the UN—and global treaties. To Bolton these are political impediments to be ignored or re-interpreted as expedience dictates. He strongly prefers unilateralism or if appropriate “coalitions of the willing” created and led by the U.S. and acting independently of the UN.
Like Cheney he has wide experience in government and would like to make US policy and actions more ‘muscular’. He has been an Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security in the State Department. While in that position, he tried to change long standing international law to enable unilateral extra-UN interdiction of other countries’ flagged vessels on the high seas. As Ambassador to the United Nations, he harshly criticized and tried to reshape it in the US favor. He was an early supporter of the Iraq War and continues to aggressively defend his position while many others involved in that decision have tried to distance themselves from it. He also has continuously supported military action and regime change in North Korea and Iran.
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