Rep. Shiela Jackson Lee (D-Texas) said former White House National Security Advisor John Bolton “had it right” by not supporting members of the Taliban coming to Camp David and that the Taliban is “thriving” on Bolton’s firing.
Bolton reportedly had disagreed with Trump’s decision to host the Taliban for peace talks at Camp David and argued with the president over the matter.
Reacting to Bolton’s firing, Jackson Lee, a member of the Homeland Security Committee, said she opposed the Camp David invitation.
“The Taliban are not interested in peace. I am not against trying to work on peace but what you have to do is you have to have a definitive strategy, a plan, and a response to their misbehavior. You cannot have a photo-op. You cannot desecrate Camp David, a place of peace, to show up for a photo-op,” Jackson Lee said on Tuesday. “I think John Bolton, who I disagree with most of the time, had it right on this instance. It was disgraceful to invite the Taliban. There was no purpose to it. You weren’t gaining anything and you just killed our precious citizens who wear the uniform.”
Jackson Lee said members of the Taliban “survive on violence” and they will “kill again.”
“I assume they are grateful for this discussion and probably grateful for John Bolton being fired. When I say grateful, I’m sure they are thriving on this. We should not have gone down that route in the first place,” she said.
“We can’t live on a photo-op. So I know John Bolton will land on his feet. As I said, I don’t agree with him most of the time, but he has his opinions. But he also has a knowledge about certain ways of the international affairs and national actions and unfortunately, I consider the White House in crisis and the nation in crisis right now,” she added.
Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, was asked for his reaction to Bolton’s firing.
“I think John Bolton never should have been hired in the first place, so I don’t have a problem with him leaving, but to me, this is like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. The problem is not staff, it is the captain of the ship, and no matter what staff you have in or out, until Donald Trump changes his behavior, America’s national security is going to suffer,” he said.
Bolton tweeted that he “offered to resign last night and President Trump said, ‘Let’s talk about it tomorrow.'” Trump said he dismissed Bolton.
“I believe John Bolton on that one,” Lieu said.
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