Why Bolton Believes that Hamas is Winning – ANALYSIS

November 26, 2023 Articles, Features
US politician John Bolton. (Photo: Gage Skidmore, via Wikimedia Commons)

By Palestine Chronicle Editors

In his article published in The British newspaper The Telegraph, John Bolton argued that  “Hamas has won a significant victory”.

Hawkish US politician John Bolton is known for advocating a US foreign policy in the Middle East that is dedicated to Israel’s military and political supremacy.

Bolton, an iconic member of the US neoconservative movement, was one of the most popular cheerleaders for the US war in Iraq.

He served as the US Ambassador to the UN from 2005 to 2006, and as US National Security Advisor from 2018 to 2019. 

One of his numerous confrontational statements included this one in 1994.

“There is no United Nations. There is an international community that occasionally can be led by the only real power left in the world, and that’s the United States.”

Later, he said, “The (UN) secretariat building in New York has 38 storeys. If you lost 10 stories today, it wouldn’t make a bit of difference.”

Ironically, this very individual was selected by George W. Bush as the US ambassador to the world, compelling some to argue that he was chosen for this role to effectively destroy the United Nations. 

His militancy and belligerency aside, Bolton is known for being honest and straightforward about his political beliefs. 

This is why it was particularly interesting what he said in his editorial in the British Telegraph newspaper.

In his article entitled ‘Hamas has just won a major victory over Israel’, published on Friday, he argued that  “Hamas has won a significant victory” over Israel through the ceasefire, and that it was indeed Hamas, not Israel, which is “the real beneficiary of a cessation of hostilities.”

He wrote that “Hamas will use the pause to extricate its terrorists from a difficult position, exfiltrate assets and personnel into Egypt and Israel through undiscovered tunnels, and prepare southern Gaza for the next Israeli offensive.”

Bolton’s views are most consistent with those of the far-right political parties in the Israeli government, namely Jewish Power (Otzma Yehudit), which did not vote in favor of the prisoner swap. 

But whether Bolton is aware of this or not, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was forced into this temporary ceasefire, due to the massive losses suffered by his army in Gaza. 

This is not exactly surprising. After all, Bolton, who often speaks of political risk analysis, was, for years, under the impression that the US military was winning in Iraq, contrary to all evidence. 

“Israel’s critical political risk is seeing its determination to eliminate Hamas undermined,” he wrote in the Telegraph. 

“Even chancier is the strength of US backing, which is already weakening. Biden’s initially robust rhetorical support for Israel has cooled, and his resolve shrinks daily under the assault of the Democratic party’s pro-Palestinian Left-wing.”

Bolton’s rhetoric is most likely linked to the upcoming elections in the US, in fact, he did make a reference to Biden’s Democratic party’s ‘problems’, which “will grow more acute as the 2024 presidential campaign unfolds.”

This time, Bolton is actually correct. Never before has support for Palestinians, mainly among Democrats, but also among ordinary Americans, mattered so much as a political issue. Indeed, this will play out in the coming months.

Bolton concludes his article by saying that “the benefits of freeing hostages are visible now,” but warns that “the much larger costs are on their way”.

When the likes of Bolton speak of a Hamas victory, and dual crises in Tel Aviv and Washington, one can easily deduce that the Israeli war on Gaza is not going very well. 

(The Palestine Chronicle)

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2 Comments

  1. President Trump reportedly fired Mr. Bolton. Reports in the USA are that Iran had Mr. Bolton on a hit list. Smart journalists shouldn’t take Mr. Bolton’s comments at face value.

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