John Bolton, who served for a brief time (2005-06) as the US ambassador to the United Nations during the last Bush Administration, is always provocative. 

He's a smart guy. He's been accused of being brash and careless (which probably cost him Senate confirmation "back in the day"); but in diplomatic circles, that's just another way of saying that he speaks his mind without paying too much attention to who might (or might not) like it. That's why, when he comments on world affairs, some of us dutifully sit up in our seats and pay attention.

That's not to say that we always agree with him. After all, Mr. Bolton does have a history of making bold predictions about Israel striking Iran's nuclear facilities—that is, the site(s) where virtually everyone in the intelligence community knows they're feverishly working to develop a nuclear arsenal.

To me, Bolton's repeated warnings seem like they could be counterproductive. I mean, even if Israel was indeed preparing for a strike, wouldn't it be more judicious for us simply to keep our mouths shut about it? But hey—what do I know?

Maybe Bolton is engaging in a game of international intrigue that's beyond the comprehension of us mere mortals. Is this (i.e., repeated warnings about a strike) his way of keeping the Iranians off-balance so they're never really certain if or when the Israelis might hit them? Or am I giving this man way too much credit?

For the past few days, he's been talking about the demise of the Mubarak regime in Egypt and its security implications for nearby Israel. He was just interviewed on Fox News. Fascinating stuff.

Bolton also has an interesting take on the effect of the Stuxnet cyber-attack on Iran's nuclear program. (You can catch up on our past discussions of Stuxnet by clicking here.)

Once again, he's saying Israel is about to strike Iran: Click here.

Fortunately, all we have to do is wait for another few weeks and we'll know if he was right. 

Stay tuned!