Political Quotes

John Bolton: “I think there's a very real risk here that the intelligence community is like generals fighting the last war. They got…”

On the recordDecember 3, 2007
I think there's a very real risk here that the intelligence community is like generals fighting the last war. They got Iraq wrong and they're overcompensating by understating the potential threat from Iran.
Said by
John Bolton
Republican · District of Columbia

Editor's note · Context

Bolton expresses concern that the intelligence community may be misjudging the threat from Iran based on past mistakes.

Share

More from John Bolton

Oct 17, 2025

This case is an abuse of power by the Republican administration, which he compared to Stalinist Russia.

msnbc.com
Oct 17, 2025

Charges that were declined before or distort the facts to punish Trump’s enemies.

msnbc.com
Nov 18, 2025

If it’s simply about illegal narcotics, that’s one thing. But it seems to be about overthrowing Maduro.

cnn.com
Apr 3, 2026

I offered to resign last night, and President Trump said, 'Let’s talk about it tomorrow.'

usatoday.com

Other voices in this conversation