IRAN/NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Tuesday [3-27-18] he had no reservations or concerns about President Donald Trump’s incoming national security adviser, John Bolton, a hawk who has advocated using military force against North Korea and Iran. Mattis said he would meet Bolton for the first time later this week at the Pentagon, amid speculation the two men will clash on a host of major national issues…Trump has shaken up his core national security team in the past two weeks, replacing National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster and firing Rex Tillerson as his secretary of state. The moves within a small group of just a handful of advisers have stoked speculation that Mattis could be increasingly isolated.”
-Phil Stewart, “Defense Secretary Mattis says has no reservations about Bolton,” Reuters, Mar. 27, 2018 9:00am