Stavridis: Bolton Reaches for 'Combat Solution' in Overseas Relations

Incoming national security adviser John Bolton "instinctively reaches for the hard power instrument" in his opinions about international issues, and that will increase tensions worldwide, retired Adm. James Stavridis warned Thursday.

"In other words, the combat solution," Stavridis the dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, told MSNBC's "Morning Joe." 

"Look for tension to ramp up in the Arabian Gulf. Look for tension to ramp up on the Korean Peninsula. Look for tension in the South China Sea."

Bolton has "taken consistently hard-edged positions," said Stavridis, and he's working for President Donald Trump, "who is not experienced internationally and will be influenced by that reach for hard power."

The person to watch, however, will be Mike Pompeo, if he's confirmed as secretary of State, said Stavridis, because "he'll be the pivot guy between [Secretary of Defense] Jim Mattis, who is in my view kind of the voice of reason, and John Bolton, who is going to be reaching again an again to move us in a hard power direction."

Stavridis added that as a retired admiral, he'd be less comfortable with Bolton advising Trump, because "no one hates war like a soldier or a sailor."

"I think if you had that personal experience on the battlefield the way Jim Mattis does, the way John Kelly does, I think grow are far less inclined to reach for that instrument of combat power," he said.

"Let us hope that we'll continue to see good advice from Secretary Mattis. I think we will."

Stavridis also commented about the changing news on North Korea, noting that he still believes there is "about a 10 percent chance of a war on the Korean Peninsula," despite the reports of talks between North and South Korea and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's recent trip to China.

"That's quite high, and I would put that level about double where it was two years ago when Kim Jong Un really began this aggressive series of tests," Stavridis said. "I think there's a 20 percent chance, that there will be conflict, bullets fly but that both sides step back."

However, he does believe there is about a "70 percent chance that we can negotiate, we can have a diplomatic solution here. . . I think we have a 70 percent chance from walking away from this thing in one piece."

"We ought to grasp the opportunity here," said Stavridis. "We ought to say let's go to the table, let's have the conversation and we ought to try and encourage a move to four-party talks, that's North Korea, South Korea, U.S., China."

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