President Obama is "running up the white flag" of surrender to the Taliban by ending combat missions in Afghanistan in 2013, contends former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton.
Bolton also says he's concerned Obama's re-election will "gravely impair" what he described as an already "seriously weakened" U.S. national security.
Bolton was speaking in an interview on "Aaron Klein Investigative Radio" on New York's WABC Radio.
Advertisement - story continues below
Click here to listen to the audio.
Asked how Obama's re-election would affect U.S. foreign policy, Bolton replied: "I think the national security of the United States, which has already been seriously weakened by the administration's policies, will be gravely impaired."
Continued Bolton: "I think the announcement that the U.S. hopes to end combat operations in Afghanistan by 2013 is all but running up the white flag to the Taliban. The withdrawal of combat forces from Iraq has sent a terrible signal to America's Arab friends in the region."
"This inability to acknowledge the reality of Iran's nuclear weapons program, our continued hostility under the Obama administration to Israel, is a pattern of America in decline."
Advertisement - story continues below
"And when the president, if he is re-elected, doesn't have to face the people of the United States ever again, I just think the vista that lies in front of us is truly worrying," Bolton added.
Last week, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced the U.S. plans to end combat missions in Afghanistan by 2013 while continuing a training and advisory role with Afghan forces through 2014.
According to multiple reports, Germany, Britain and other NATO members complained that they had been blindsided by Panetta's plan, while Afghan officials expressed concern with the new timetable.
