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Buttigieg suggests Bolton shouldn’t be allowed near the Situation Room

by Chris Mills Rodrigo - 03/10/19 11:02 PM ET

South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) suggested Sunday that national security adviser John Bolton should not be allowed near the Situation Room.

Buttigieg took aim at Bolton, suggesting that someone who was involved in the lead-up to the Iraq War shouldn’t be “allowed that near the Situation Room to begin with.”

Buttigieg, who announced his presidential exploratory committee in January, did not call out Bolton by name when asked about the conflict in Venezuela, but accused him of “carelessly” floating the idea of using military force to deal with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.{mosads}

“The situation in Venezuela is highly disturbing. The regime lost its legitimacy,” Buttigieg said. “That being said, that doesn’t mean we carelessly threaten the use of military force, which it appeared the national security adviser was doing at one point.”

“I don’t understand how somebody leading us into the Iraq War is allowed that near the Situation Room to begin with,” Buttigieg, who served in Iraq, said.

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Bolton pushed for the initial invasion of Iraq after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. At the time, Bolton served as former President George W. Bush’s undersecretary of State for arms control and international security.

Buttigieg added that he believed sanctions are a more effective tool to try and grapple with the escalating conflict in Venezuela.

Bolton has frequently said nothing is off the table when addressing the situation in Venezuela, where the U.S. has recognized opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the interim president in an attempt to force current Maduro out of office.

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