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MSNBC: Trump’s newest national security moves labeled ‘stone cold crazy’
Washington, DC,
January 30, 2017
MSNBC: Trump’s newest national security moves labeled ‘stone cold crazy’ Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, reviewed Donald Trump’s new directive on the White House’s National Security Council, and felt compelled to issue a candid assessment. “This is a ‘Holy Crap’ moment,” the congressman said. Under the circumstances, it’s hard to argue with Larsen’s conclusion. The New York Times reported: [T]he defining moment for [Chief White House Strategist Stephen] Bannon came Saturday night in the form of an executive order giving the rumpled right-wing agitator a full seat on the “principals committee” of the National Security Council – while downgrading the roles of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the director of national intelligence, who will now attend only when the council is considering issues in their direct areas of responsibilities. It is a startling elevation of a political adviser, to a status alongside the secretaries of state and defense, and over the president’s top military and intelligence advisers. Sure, Trump’s national security team was already something of a mess. National Security Advisor Michael Flynn clearly has no business holding his current post; his deputy is even less qualified; and the person the president tapped to oversee NSC communications was forced to resign. But this takes the problems to a whole new level. Susan Rice, who served as one of President Obama’s National Security Advisors, described Trump’s move as “stone cold crazy,” which also seems more than fair. “The last place you want to put somebody who worries about politics is in a room where they’re talking about national security,” said Leon E. Panetta, a former White House chief of staff, defense secretary and C.I.A. director in two Democratic administrations. “I’ve never seen that happen, and it shouldn’t happen. It’s not like he has broad experience in foreign policy and national security issues. He doesn’t. His primary role is to control or guide the president’s conscience based on his campaign promises. That’s not what the National Security Council is supposed to be about.” Bob Gates, who served as Defense Secretary in both the Bush and Obama administrations, called Trump’s NSC shake-up a “big mistake.” Given the seriousness of the issue, it’s a mistake Americans can hardly afford. ### |