John Bolton

John R. Bolton currently serves as a Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. His area of research is U.S. foreign and national security policy. Prior to arriving at AEI, Amb. Bolton served as the United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations from August 1, 2005 to December 9, 2006. From June 2001 to May 2005, Ambassador Bolton served as Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, also in the Bush Administration. Prior to this, Ambassador Bolton was Senior Vice President of the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). He supervised the AEI research program, financial oversight, dissemination of the AEI research and publications, public affairs and general management. Ambassador Bolton has spent many years of his career in public service. Previous positions he has held are Assistant Secretary for International Organization Affairs at the Department of State, 1989-1993; Assistant Attorney General, Department of Justice, 1985-1989; Assistant Administrator for Program and Policy Coordination, U.S. Agency for International Development, 1982-1983; General Counsel, U.S. Agency for International Development, 1981-1982. Ambassador Bolton is also an attorney. He was an associate at the Washington office of Covington & Burling, and then a member of the firm from 1983-1985, after public service at the U.S. Agency for International Development. He currently is "of counsel" to the law firm of Kirkland & Ellis. Bolton graduated Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude from Yale College (1970), and received his J.D. from Yale Law School (1974), where he was editor of the Yale Law Journal. Ambassador Bolton is married to Gretchen Smith Bolton. They have one daughter, Jennifer Sarah, an investment banker in New York.

ARTICLES BY: John Bolton

May 30, 2014 6:05 pm

7

Doubling Down on a Muddled Foreign Policy

At West Point on Wednesday, President Obama told the graduating seniors that he had discovered a middle way in foreign policy between isolationism and military interventionism....

May 29, 2014 1:12 am

2

Pretending the Islamic Fury Does Not Exist

Los Angeles high society is in turmoil following the decision of Brunei's sultan, owner of the Beverly Hills Hotel, to implement Shariah criminal law in...

May 14, 2014 12:42 am

0

Why the Ukranian Elections Matter

Ukraine's civil strife continues, now verging on civil war. Today in several eastern provinces, haphazardly organized local referenda had been planned to decide whether to...

May 9, 2014 1:19 am

4

Why Nigeria Matters to Us

The recent kidnapping of hundreds of schoolgirls in Nigeria is a dramatic and potentially tragic example of the fanaticism of Boko Haram and other Islamic...

May 8, 2014 10:56 am

2

President Obama’s Syria Sideshow

Syria's chaos is growing, with increased fighting among the opposition groups and fresh evidence that Bashar al-Assad is again using chemical weapons. But the chaos...

May 5, 2014 8:53 am

0

Opinion: Obama Sends Dangerous Message to Allies and Foes on Asia Trip

Barack Obama's Asia tour had the look and feel of a tired, uninterested president simply going through the motions. Other than just showing up, Obama did...

April 30, 2014 12:11 am

0

Ukraine Shows NATO is Still the Answer

The continuing Ukraine crisis raises both a critical "what if?" question and a pressing policy issue. What if, in April 2008, the Europeans had not...

April 24, 2014 2:58 pm

4

Robert Gates’ Memoir is a Jaw-Dropping Read (REVIEW)

Former Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates's memoir follows the classic form, telling the story of his years at the Pentagon during the Bush and...

April 20, 2014 10:06 am

12

Opinion: A Three State Solution for Middle East Peace: Israel, Jordan, and Egypt

The collapse of President Obama's efforts to force a "negotiated" settlement between Israel and the Palestinians should prompt a thorough rethinking of his administration's entire...

April 17, 2014 11:18 am

3

Opinion: Lessons Learned From Obama’s Middle East ‘Peace Process’

Barack Obama has announced a "pause" for a "reality check" in his Israeli-Palestinian diplomacy, although no one is really deceived by this euphemism. His "peace...

March 25, 2014 12:06 pm

1

Why the U.S. Must Spend More on Defense

As threats and challenges to America metastasize internationally, the imperative for a dramatically new defense strategy grows ever clearer. Unfortunately, President Obama's remaining three years...

March 20, 2014 12:00 am

0

One Korea, One Less Problem

Once again, a dramatic nighttime photo, taken in color from space, shows North Korea as an almost totally black void, surrounded by bright lights across...

February 24, 2014 1:29 pm

0

Obama and Ron Paul Aligned on Foreign Policy

Rarely have the consequences of President Obama's disinterest in American national security been so evident as in Ukraine's ongoing crisis. After essentially ignoring Ukraine for five...

February 19, 2014 11:07 am

4

The Coming Explosion of American Middle East Diplomacy

President Obama has three significant Middle East diplomatic initiatives underway, treating, respectively, Iran's nuclear weapons program; Syria's deadly, exhausting conflict; and the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian dispute....