Fox News TV:
“What is America’s interest, if any, in Iraq today?”

John Bolton, former US Ambassador to the UN:
“I think we have a substantial interest in the conflict we see unfolding in front of us and how it comes out. That doesn’t to me necessarily getting involved militarily on one side or the other. I think if you calculate what’s most at stake in the broader region it’s still the threat from Iran, from its nuclear weapons program, from its financing and arming of terrorists around the world. So that’s one reason I would not put military advisors in or otherwise cooperate with the al-Maliki regime which is effectively a subsidiary of the ayatollahs in Tehran.”

Fox News TV:
“Precisely, and if our principle enemy is Iran, why would we send 300 advisors to help Nouri al-Maliki when we are supporting then the Shiites, who are essentially Iraq and Iran?”

John Bolton:
“Under the control of Iran, at least the al-Maliki government is, even the Shiites are divided and some of have called for al-Maliki to be replaced. That would be a step forward. But let’s look at the Sunnis too… there are other Sunnis, tribal leaders, even former Baathists from the Saddam era who don’t like being oppressed by al-Maliki any better than anybody else and they are fighting against al-Maliki, too. They are not necessarily our enemies. So the point is the situation on the ground in Iraq is very confused at this point, not the kind of environment to put in American forces and it diverts us as the Obama administration has been diverted for 5 ½ years from the main enemy, and the main enemy is Iran.”