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

January 29, 2014 8:08 am

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Obama Sees Weaker U.S. as Key to World Peace

On the eve of his annual State of the Union address, Barack Obama's five years as president have brought innumerable national security failures. However, beyond...

January 27, 2014 8:20 am

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Opinion: Iran’s Triumph in Geneva

For nearly three decades, Iran's ayatollahs have outfoxed and outmaneuvered Western counter-proliferation efforts. Tehran has repeatedly bested our diplomats, our spies, and, most especially, our...

January 14, 2014 8:34 am

2

President Obama’s Iran Policies Are a Disaster

Barack Obama's inexplicable and increasingly dangerous tilt toward Iran is getting harder to hide. Whether his administration is consciously shifting policy or simply making ad...

January 8, 2014 7:51 am

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The Folly of Obama’s Mideast ‘Peace’ Push

The breaking news that al Qaeda has captured Fallujah and Ramadi raises the question whether America's sacrifices in Iraq were made in vain. It also...

December 28, 2013 12:01 am

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Obama’s Disengagement is Having Dangerous Consequences

As South Sudan's conflict escalates rapidly toward outright civil war, President Obama has shown precious little interest. He has rightly dispatched military forces to protect...

December 19, 2013 1:56 am

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Obama Fiddles While the World Burns

Nero "fiddled," so they say, while Rome burned. Today, this epigram all too accurately describes President Obama's approach to U.S. national security. For five years,...

December 10, 2013 2:26 pm

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Verification is the Elephant in the Room in the Iranian Nuke Deal

Verifying compliance with nuclear arms-control and nonproliferation agreements is undeniably a worthy objective. But verification is no panacea. It is never completely comprehensive or effective. It...

December 6, 2013 1:13 pm

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How to Answer China’s Muscle-Flexing

China's declaration on Nov. 23 of an air-defense identification zone over the Japanese-held Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea transformed Vice President Joe Biden's...

November 26, 2013 11:38 am

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Geneva Deal is ‘Abject Surrender’ by the United States

Negotiations for an "interim" arrangement over Iran's nuclear weapons program finally succeeded this past weekend, as Security Council foreign ministers (plus Germany) flew to Geneva...

November 21, 2013 8:02 am

3

Obama’s ‘Deal’ Will Let Iran Get the Bomb

Barack Obama seems poised this week to reach an agreement with Iran on its nuclear-weapons program in talks that resumeWednesday. Negotiations came unstuck this month...

November 13, 2013 9:53 am

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Opinion: Obama’s Foreign Policy Blunders Carry a Heavy Cost

Under Barack Obama, American influence in the Middle East has sunk to levels not seen since before World War II. From Israel to Saudi Arabia,...

November 8, 2013 10:24 am

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A Korean Ghost Lurks at U.S.-Iran Nuclear Talks

Are Iran and North Korea cooperating on their nuclear-weapons programs? If so, their efforts undermine, and may preclude, Barack Obama's diplomatic attempts to address these...

November 6, 2013 10:26 am

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Obama Should Listen to Saudi Arabia

On October 17, Saudi Arabia was elected by the United Nations General Assembly to a nonpermanent seat on the Security Council. The next day, Riyadh...

October 16, 2013 10:46 am

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Raids in Libya and Somalia are Positive Steps, But Not Enough

Last weekend's daring anti-terrorist raids in Somalia and Libya demonstrated once again the extraordinary capabilities of America's special operations forces and intelligence services. Launched almost...