I had really hoped to finish this today. But Pressley needed dog food and the lawn needed mowing before tomorrow’s predicted rain, so I only managed another three chapters. Three quarters of the way into this mess of a book, and I haven’t actually learned enough new facts so far to merit the effort of reading the damn thing. In these chapters Bolton revisits both Iran and North Korea. His book deal must have included some bonuses for word count. There’s a lot of padding that any decent editor would have ripped out, drenched in gasoline and lit on fire. Tedious is an understatement. Also self-indulgent, disingenuous and full of neocon propaganda.
Bolton variously has characterized tRump as a child, ignorant, always seeking praise, easily swayed and profoundly inconsistent. I guess he missed all the lies and graft.
Impressions and quotes from the text:
China (Chapter 10)
Two thirds of the way into the book, Bolton finally lands a body blow on tRump. The Chinese company, ZTE, stole intellectual property and got sanctioned/fined by the Justice Department. tRump intervened based on his good friend Xi Jinping asking him to do so. Bolton provides some context for tRump’s floundering.
“He then stunningly turned the conversation to the coming US presidential election, alluding to China’s economic capability to affect the ongoing campaigns, pleading with Xi to ensure he’d win. He stressed the importance of farmers, and increased Chinese purchases of soybeans and wheat in the electoral outcome. I would print tRump’s exact words, but the government’s prepublication review process has decided otherwise.”
That’s a flat violation of law and an impeachable offense. Gee, I wonder if any republican senators will be calling for tRump’s impeachemt?
tRump also took steps to protect Huawei from similar Justice Department sanctions in order to keep the possibility of a trade deal with China alive. Both Huawei and ZTE have broken US Law. I guess tRump is protecting them as part of his get tough on China policy?
“With only interpreters present, Xi explained to tRump why he was basically building concentration camps in Xinjiang. According to our interpreter, tRump said that Xi should go ahead with building the camps, which he thought was exactly the right thing to do.”
“After I left the White House, when tRump abandoned the Kurds in Syria, there was speculation about who he might abandon next. Taiwan was right near the top of the list, and would probably stay there as long as tRump remained President, not a happy prospect.”
Bolton takes some shots at China over secrecy surrounding the initial outbreak of COVID-19 before circling back to pile on tRump’s blundering. Nothing new here. Republican party on China, plus Bolton on tRump. Bolton defends his axing of the pandemic team at the NSC as a move to enhance coordination and efficiency. That worked really well.
“Thus, responding to the coronavirus, the NSC biosecurity team functioned exactly as it was supposed to. It was the chair behind the Resolute desk that was empty.”
Aside from the dodging any responsibility schtick that republicans learn in the womb, I have to admit that was some fine shade he threw there.
North Korea (Chapter 11)
On the tRump/Kim meeting at the DMZ: “North Korea had what it wanted from the United States and tRump had what he wanted personally. This showed the asymmetry of tRump’s view of foreign affairs. He couldn’t tell the difference between his personal interests and the country’s interests.”
Hmm. So tRump go a photo op and the country lost something. Where else have we seen this recently?
On Kim: “Or will he conclude that no deal with tRump is possible and that he would be better served waiting to see if a pliant Democrat with even less foreign-policy experience than tRump emerges as President?”
I have a rhetorical question: Is there any Democrat or republican running for any office that has less meaningful foreign-policy experience than tRump?
Iran (Chapter 12)
I’m so very tired of reading Bolton’s views about Iran. He’s like a pubescent teenage boy who can’t control his involuntary urges to sanction and then bomb the crap out of Iran every time he sees a racy photo.
And he’s literary too — on the Iranian shooting down of a Global Hawk drone over the straits of Hormuz: “The sanctions came to resemble the Jarndyce v Jarndyce litigation in Charles Dickens's Bleak House.” I had to look it up. The Jarndyce v Jarndyce litigation was a subplot in the book where the long-running inheritance dispute is dismissed because lawyer’s fees ate up the entire estate. Is he saying we were paying him too much for all those sanctions he kept trying to impose?
A little be of textual side-eye: “The NSC meeting actually began on time at eleven a.m., showing even tRump took this seriously.”
This whole chapter is a bit of deja vu all over again. Our hero, John Boi, convinces the simpleton, tRump, to react with excessive force to some provocation from Iran. tRump goes along and then calls it off at the last minute. John Boi weeps tears of rage. Rinse. Lather. Repeat. We also learned that Pompeo doesn’t think very much of tRump either and was talking about resigning. Go ahead, Mikey. You can get a book out in time for the election.
This will finish tomorrow. Only two chapters and an epilogue left to go.
That which came before:
Up the Resistance!
Memaliciousness
Cut and Paste Department. This is the regularly scheduled plea for readers. I’ve still only had to make two memes. You have it within your power to make me work. If you spread the word about Evening Shade and your spreadee announces themselves in the comments, you will become eligible to receive your very, very special noprize of a meme of your very own. All you have to do is jump up and get out there and start carnival barking, cajoling, proselytizing (or pimping, if you are of an irreligious bent). You could even pester and push. Procrastination is not an option — it’s a way of life.
chloris creator did the honors today, just like every Friday. All hail chloris, she done good: Good News Roundup for Friday, June 26, 2020: the Flops Are Forcing Flips
WYgalinCali regular Friday column features Healthwear (among other goodies): A Breath of Fresh Air for Friday
Mokurai looks inside an under-reported sector: Renewable Friday: Indigenous Tribes in America 2, Policy