Trump taps O'Brien to replace Bolton

China Daily | Updated: 2019-09-20 09:18

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump on Wednesday named Robert O'Brien, the State Department's chief hostage negotiator and an established figure in Republican policy circles, as his new national security adviser.

O'Brien, the fourth person in two years to hold the job, becomes the administration's point person on national security amid rising tensions with Iran following the attacks on Saudi oil installations and fresh uncertainty in Afghanistan after the halt in talks with the Taliban.

The announcement of O'Brien's selection came a week after Trump ousted John Bolton from the post, citing policy disagreements.

O'Brien, who made headlines in July when he was dispatched to Sweden to monitor the assault trial of US rapper A$AP Rocky, was among five candidates Trump said on Tuesday were under consideration.

"He's worked with me for quite a while now on hostages, and we have a tremendous track record on hostages," Trump said on Wednesday on a tarmac in Los Angeles, hours after revealing the pick on Twitter. "Robert has been fantastic. We know each other well."

O'Brien, standing alongside Trump, said it was a "privilege" to be picked.

"We've had tremendous foreign policy successes under President Trump's leadership. I expect those to continue. We've got a number of challenges," he added. O'Brien said the administration's focus will continue to be on keeping the United States safe and rebuilding the military. He said he would advise Trump privately on the situation in Saudi Arabia.

Trump abruptly forced out Bolton on Sept 10, after he and the hawkish national security adviser found themselves in strong disagreement over the administration's approach to Iran, Afghanistan and a host of other global challenges. The sudden exit marked the latest departure of a prominent voice of dissent from Trump's inner circle as the president has grown more comfortable following his gut instinct over the studious guidance offered by his advisers.

Former Missouri US senator Jim Talent, who has been a friend of O'Brien's for years, said that while the new adviser is tough, has a high degree of stamina and doesn't fold under pressure, he is not the type of person who is going to try to steamroll his own policy opinions.

"He does not have the... brand of Bolton," Talent said, adding that it would be hard to "pigeonhole" O'Brien as a "neocon" or label him with other foreign policy tags.

Talent said O'Brien, a lawyer, formerly arbitrated international legal cases and probably wore a tie more often than others in Los Angeles. But he's not a "buttoned-up" kind of person, Talent said.

As the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs at the State Department, O'Brien worked closely with the families of US hostages and advised administration officials on hostage issues.

He helped secure the release in February of US citizen Danny Burch, who was freed after 18 months in captivity in Yemen. He has also worked on the case of missing US journalist Austin Tice, who was captured in Syria in 2012.

Associated Press