The Room Where It Happened

The National Security Council (NSC) is a forum established in 1947 by President Harry S. Truman to oversee matters related to national security, the military, and foreign policy. It regularly convenes meetings of the Principals Committee to discuss more urgent matters of national security. Much of The Room Where It Happens takes place in these meetings, which are chaired by the national security advisor—in this case, Bolton. Regular attendees of Bolton’s Principals Committee include Secretary of State Pompeo, White House Chief of Staff Kelly, Defense Secretary Mattis, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dunford.

Better known as the Iran nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPA) is a multilateral deal negotiated under President Obama that eases sanctions on Iran as long as the country complies with various provisions related to its nuclear program. Its objective is to give Iran incentives to abandon efforts to obtain nuclear weapons. One of Bolton’s proudest achievements as national security advisor is convincing Trump to withdraw from the deal. The deal is still technically in effect for its other signatories, including the United Kingdom, China, France, Russia, and Germany.

“Action for action” refers to a diplomatic approach toward North Korea in which sequential transactional steps are taken toward complete denuclearization. For example, the United States might remove one economic sanction, and in return North Korea would close one nuclear facility. Bolton works hard to dissuade Trump from embracing this model, which he says has failed numerous times dating back to President George H. W. Bush. He says that it is too easy for North Korea to claim it closed a nuclear facility when it simply moved nuclear assets to other locations.