Flynn Flees
The Russian Embassy in Washington rivals the US Embassy in Moscow as the most bugged location in the world. As a former Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Michael Flynn had to know it – it was one of his targets. If he and the Russian ambassador used burner phones, it just means that their conversations would have been initially intercepted by the DEA before being highlighted for the FBI. The man is an incompetent if he can’t deal with the most basic level of spycraft.
At this point, it is time to look a bit closer at Rex Tillerson, another
Cabinet-level ‘fan’ of Russia. How many Cabinet picks did Putin get?
50 comments
Flynn got put out to pasture by Obama because he literally lost his mind, started spewing weird conspiracy theories and making strange statements. He was supposedly good at what he did before he started losing his mind. I think the ease with which his conversation was intercepted is a consequence of that. His wife, if he has one, should be urging him to be tested for Alzheimer’s right about, uhm, three years ago.
What is most worrisome is that Trump promised to hire the best people he could get for the White House… and these are the best people he could get. This is the “A” team, folks. This is it. The Republicans don’t have anybody better willing to work for them in the White House. They’ve already chewed up their political capital and spit it out, nobody wants anything to do with that toxic brand.
The standard military tour is 3 years; he was Director of DIA for 2 years and retired. Officers normally get a ‘courtesy promotion’ on retirement; he didn’t. He had to have pissed the Joint Chiefs for this to happen. Retired general officers have a different set of rules – they are retired, but they aren’t. They are subject to recall, so the restrictions don’t end with retirement. The DoJ might ignore this, but he could be court martialed if someone was interested.
One too many parachute jumps…
Russia Deploys Missile, Violating Treaty and Challenging Trump
“Russian Cruise Missile, Deployed Secretly, Violates Treaty, Officials Say. The move presents a major challenge for President Trump, who has vowed to improve relations with President Vladimir Putin of Russia and to pursue future arms accords. The new Russian missile deployment also comes as the Trump administration is struggling to fill key policy positions at the State Department and the Pentagon.”
Well, this will be interesting! Will Trumpet do anything? If not, then he’s owned.
Fun & games continue. A Russian Spy/Comm’s ship has moved to within 70 mi. of the US East coast & heading North.
Here’s the latest tweets (condensed & grouped) from “Rogue POTUS Staff”:
This URL address will provide external verification if there is ever a concern for the security of this account: http://www.potusstaff.com/securitycheck.html
“This guy is an idiot. He has no idea what he’s doing.” Overheard by Trudeau to Freeland.
Trudeau overheard expressing offense to his cabinet members @ POTUS handshake games. Finds it “disrespectful and tasteless.”
PM Trudeau likens POTUS to “that one kid who never got beaten up only because everyone else thought he was too pathetic to be worth it. And now he thinks it’s because they all were scared of him. But the whole time they were just laughing at him.”
POTUS is annoyed with Kellyanne. Says she keeps “messing up.” Upset that her spin clashes with the now official spin created by Pence.
POTUS has that bulging forehead vein thing going on. Something has hit a nerve. Should there be a rally in front of the White House soon?
Sanction talk is missing the big picture. Flynn tapped for a reason. Boot him, POTUS will just replace w/ another conduit to Putin.
Flynn lied to VP, but he’s not the only one. Pence has been angry at POTUS too.
Pence and Preibus have scored a victory. But will it be enough to save Preibus? The W may be short lived.
If Priebus goes then Pence stand alone. POTUS loyalists lost the Flynn battle, but may be winning the war.
POTUS once again feeling like he’s being sabotaged from within. He’s not wrong, but his his reasoning is completely off the mark.
POTUS hates his strings being pulled. But right now he seems to feel more like Pinocchio than a real President.
The good news for POTUS is that accepting Flynn’s sudden resg gave him leverage to negotiate the return of his phone. Such a deal maker.
Bannon and Miller seem in agreement about Pence being behind Flynn’s ouster, but only Bannon has said as much to POTUS so far.
POTUS seeing Pence is more loyal than ever, after having come up with spin strategy. Rejects Bannon’s claims, at least on surface.
Kushner eager about Netenyahu meeting, and POTUS tends to think he can pull BN’s strings. Feels more like business meeting than diplomacy.
And don’t expect POTUS to try his handshake shenanigans with Israeli PM.
That phone that Drumpf uses needs a serious delousing, if they can’t force him to accept a hardened version. If they are going to use Mar-a-Lago for official functions they need to install signal disruption systems or a no cellphones policy. The schmuck complains about ‘leaks’ while we both can see that he has no concern or understanding of all of the violations he commits that enable spying on everything he does.
The problem the WH has now of course, is that anyone they appoint, or want to appoint is automatically suspicious & tainted. There’s no chance they would appoint anyone who might expose them.
For example, does that mean that Vice Admiral Robert Harward, whom Trump as asked to replace Flynn also a Russian collaborator or spy? Or someone they believe they can control, perhaps because they have some other dirt on him? *shrug*
Everyone is tainted now. And anyone who’s smart will decline. Apparently, Andy Puzder is expected to withdraw as Trump’s pick for labor secretary. We’ll see. Depends whether he’s owned or smart or not. *shrug*
Just in:
U.S. Allies conduct intelligence operation against Trump White House, intercepted communications
May explain (partly at least) why Trump wants NATO disbanded ASAP, and why Putin is threatening NATO States.
This just tweeded by WH Reporter for NYT Julie Davis: Reince & Bannon emerged from Spicer’s office just now, looked at scrum of reporters. Bannon: “The opposition party, all lined up.”
When I make soft-boiled eggs I usually put hot tap water in the pot and add the eggs. Then add heat. (makes ’em easier to peel). You have to watch the pot closely for the water to shimmer and the small bubbles start to trickle up. Before the large bubbles form that’ll crack the eggs with their violence you have to turn the heat down. This is the current state of the Trump administration: Nobody is watching the pot and things are beginning to crack.
Now, Pence is pulling a Shultzie “I know nothing!”. He says he didn’t know! How could that be? With everybody hunkering down to protect themselves don’t you think some of them (all, probably) are keeping the next president informed? Especially Bannon who chose the KristianKrazy!
Reince and Pence are from the Republican establishment and not part of Trump’s cult of personality. The guess is that they got Flynn ousted, because the party definitely isn’t ready to cozy up to Putin or Russia. Putin screwed up playing missile games while the defecation is still impacting the ventilation over Flynn.
What is really worrying everyone is that this White House doesn’t know its job and keeps screwing up the basics. Allies are targeting the US now to see if their analysts can figure out what’s going on because they can’t get straight answers from the administration.
Bannon has hung his star on Trump’s coat tails, and doesn’t want to deal with the restrictions that Pence would accept as normal.
LOL @ Shirt! Good timing! I just had a couple boiled eggs for breakfast! And I like your metaphor. 😉 😀
One thing the fools in the WH should be aware of, is that it’s looking like the LNP are out soon here. If the ALP get in, they will use our global asset’s to figure out WTF is going on and who own’s whom! Most US comm’s goes though our stations in this hemisphere, and DSD (or ASD now) are really excellent at their job, so are my old friends @ DIO. I have a friend in the ALP (Ministerial level) I chatted with recently. They do not trust Trump & co 1 mm! They will cut US ties if necessary, including closing US assets.
*sigh* I almost wish it was the 80’s & I was still in the game! What fun I would have! LOL And believe me, it’s been decades since I wished that! 😉
I can see Australia, Canada, and New Zealand forming a new alliance. Britain may come on board after the effect of their ‘Trump moment’ [Brexit] is apparent to the people who voted for it. You can ask any contractor who ever worked with him, Trump’s word is worthless.
Turnbull is acting weird and the Liberals are cutting strange deals in local elections. Going with Pauline Hanson on the preference is just weird. I am obviously missing something or conservatives need to buy a size larger in hats because the blood isn’t getting to their brains.
I can see what Putin is doing. Xi is on the same path that China has been on for years. I just don’t understand Trump or Turnbull. Where’s the pattern? Why do they want to be in charge?
Good job, you guys, for combing out the hairballs.
Now, I’ve never claimed to be any sort of mental giant when it comes to politics (either national or world), but when I heard about the Russian hack job on the Dems last summer, a little light bulb came on, the wheels spun, a bell rang and a conspiracy theory popped out. Why didn’t any of this stuff occur to all of the allegedly smart people out there when it lit up like Times Square on New Year’s Eve for me?
And, if it did, why didn’t they call bullshit when they heard it?
It is odd to say the least to have a candidate for US President to say nice things about Putin. That was a major WTF when I first heard it. Then you have all of these agencies going to the Obama White House with evidence of Russian hacking to affect the election, and Trump defends Putin. Flynn as national security advisor and Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State echo Trump’s kind words about Putin.
Then there is James Comey and his conduct during the election. He launches a hit on Clinton’s run with his letter about the Weiner laptop, but says nothing about the multiple interactions of the Trump campaign and Russia officials. He should be looking at some Club Fed time for his conduct.
Это жизнь в большом городе.
Hi Anya. 😀
You don’t need to be a mental giant. None of us are. Bryan and I are excellent @ seeing patterns. Our training hones that. In fact, honesty & common sense go a long way. Especially when confronted with things we’d rather not believe. 🙂 You have that I think, as do many here. One only has to look & be aware
The link is Murdoch & his wide web of cohorts Bryan. 🙂
As for Hansen, she’s always been a stooge for the Liberal Party. Look at her record, she ALWAYS votes with the LNP, never with the ALP. She’s like the Aussie version of a tea party moron. I’ve often suspected the LNP encourages & feeds her so that they seem sane by comparison (lesser of 2 evils) when they need a distraction. But it isn’t working this time, because the LNP are as batshit insane as ON is!
Yes… Life in the big city indeed! 🙂
The latest idiocy on Twitter is trump tweeted (in response to cries from his faithful morons) to “unseal Obama’s records that he had sealed with an Executive Order” which is of course a complete load of steaming BS that has been debunked time and again! Not the least is that personal records can only be sealed by a Court Order. *sigh*
From FactCheck:
Obama’s ‘Sealed’ Records
Also, it seems many GOP congresscritters are feeling emboldened!
Congressman says constituents asking for a town hall are ‘enemies’ of democracy
Errrmmmm… Wait… WTF??! 🙄 So, calling for their democratic right makes them an enemy of democracy??! I think he needs to retire and take more med’s. The fool continues to lie about an event that was captured on video & is obviously not what happened, where a 2yo & a 71yo were slightly injured, that he caused by being a total dick by locking his door to his constituents!
And Trumpet & co have managed to revive the failing MSM & Juornalistic spirit! LOL
Journalists, Battered and Groggy, Find a Renewed Sense of Mission
Seems many have their “watergate” on! LOL
Kryten, check out Dana Rohrbacher & Afghanistan. Rohrbacher is happy to pal around with Afghan warlords, but senior citizens visiting his office releases his bladder.
OK, so Tillerson at State belongs to Igor Sechin, the former KGB/FSB agent that Putin put in charge of RosNeft, the Russian oil monopoly. Sechin isn’t really a spy, he’s merely a linguist, and everyone knows that linguists aren’t involved in espionage 😈
Admiral Harward turned down the job. It is being hinted that he wouldn’t accept if he couldn’t bring in his own team, and Bannon would never allow that . They are now considering Petraeus, or just giving the job to acting NSA Keith Kellogg.
Update: there is reporting [probably based on White House leaks] that Adm. Harward didn’t want K.T. McFarland as his deputy, but SCROTUS or acting President Bannon wouldn’t compromise. Ms McFarland is another Putin fan and former Faux News ‘analyst’.
‘… Mr Trump robustly denied media reports of White House disarray, insisting his administration was running like a “fine-tuned machine”.’ Just like the Titanic before it hit the ice berg…
Running like a fine tuned machine that just had a 500 pound safe smash through its roof, that is. Ignore the carnage inside, this machine is YUUUUGE!
Russia is fake news. Bet you guys didn’t know that, while you were buzzing around its periphery. Fake, all fake, just like the moon landing. 🙂
The things I learn from my President continue to amaze me.
Smart man, Harward. *shrug*
In the meantime, 6 WH staffers, including Caroline Wiles, have been dismissed & had their clearances revoked after failing FBI background checks. (And why weren’t the checks done BEFORE they were appointed to sensitive positions?) Wiles actually resigned before the check was completed. So, she knew she shouldn’t have been there. When do the FBI do background checks on POTUS & the senior staff? They’d all fail.
And this from Arnie is rather… well, surprising!
I don’t give a **** if we agree about climate change
Very well said! He’d certainly be a better POTUS than the squirrel in the cage now! But then, so would Mr. Toad (The Wind in the Willows). LOL
The New Yorker article on the POTUS press conference is the media highlight IMHO.
Donald Trump’s Alternative-Reality Press Conference
“In parts of Trumpland, then, this was seen as a big win. Practically everywhere else, the reaction was: Wow! He really is a nut.”
Amen to that!
And this also:
Another Judge Has A Problem With Trump
The insane are truly running the asylum!
The Russian media have reversed direction on SCROTUS, which means that Volodya [diminutive of Vladimir] feels betrayed, and Rex doesn’t know what to do. Trump doesn’t understand that Putin doesn’t sue you, he gives you radioactive tea. After that news conference, the officer with the briefcase is carrying Sudoku games not launch codes, and the Pentagon will be talking to Pence.
Trump people didn’t fill out their paper work and submit it when they should have. They are being transferred not fired because government jobs were ‘bought’ for them, just like people pay to be US ambassadors. The spoils system really stinks.
Score 1 for an Australian pol: ‘Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull suggests US President Donald Trump is wasting his time hitting out at media coverage, citing Winston Churchill’s remark that “politicians complaining about the newspapers is like a sailor complaining about the sea”.’ It is a sad commentary that your dumbest conservative politicians are so much better than ‘the best’ that the Republicans can find.
Yeah, Badtux, he’s putting on a campaign rally to be surrounded by people who don’t question him.
Actually, the Potus is beginning to boil so he’s getting out of the Kitchen.
Is it possible that Trump will be made to ef things up so badly that we’ll welcome Baron Harkonnen, er, Pence, with open open arms?
See https://thesardonicobserver.wordpress.com/2016/05/26/trump-harkonnen/
The real problem is that no one could conceive of the existence of enough people in the right states being silly enough to vote for Drumpf. Those who voted for him are scarier than he is. They could have children 😈
Interesting:
Trump can be held accountable for violating the Constitution, even if Congress doesn’t care
Drat! This too for you Floridians Bryan (I’m sure you already know):
Trump Rally Saturday 18th, 5 pm EST @ Melbourne International Airport, Orlando Florida. Sponsored by AeroMod in their International Hangar (where they repair & refit Russian Aircraft primarily for Трансаэро – Transaero – now owned by Aeroflot). Aeromod International LLC took over the hangar on a 10 yr lease from MidAir after MidAir filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in NY as a result of Transaero being acquired by Aeroflot.
You going? 😉 LOL
You can go after Trump Inc., but Trump has to be impeached to get him out of the Oval Office. I think a stroke is our best bet. His doctor needs to start monitoring him, because temper tantrums can be fatal for 70-year-olds. Clonidine could help a number of his seeming symptoms. I seriously expect him to self destruct.
If he keeps mucking about with Putin, he could find polonium 210 in his next blintz.
Orlando is ‘Mouse town’, the home of Disneyworld & Universal Studios theme parks. I avoid it like the plague, and Drumpf at the airport would screw things up big time. There will be a no fly zone and traffic will hosed on a Saturday during the beginning of Spring Break. Oh, yeah, that’s going to make him popular. 😈
LOL Yes, I know. 😀 I had to do a double take when I read the first news item about his trip. It just said Melbourne International Airport! I was confused until I found another story that included “Orlando, Florida” LOL
No doubt you’ve heard of his draft memo to call out 100,000 National Guard troops?
Donald Trump considered using national guard to round up immigrants, memo suggests
PDF of the Memo (scanned copy of the original):
https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/3467585/Trump-National-Guard-Draft-Memo.pdf
This is a sample pf what local communities think of Presidential visits: Trump’s Frequent Visits Disrupt Palm Beach Life And Businesses.
Palm Beach is a very upscale community and doesn’t appreciate all the gawkers that come with the Presidential zoo.
That National Guard thing is part of existing law, and has been used before until Obama hired a lot of new border agents. These changes are behind the curve, i.e. the number of crossings is decreasing while Drumpf is talking about them increasing. It is like the crime rate that has been decreasing since the middle 1990s, but politicians kept building prisons that aren’t needed, and then increased sentences to keep them filled.
I can understand people’s annoyance @ their routines being upset by a clown’s parade. 😉 😀
Saw this in Politico:
Leaked Trump tape: ‘You are the special people’
So, Trump promises Mar-a-Lago members special access to the U.S. government. Explicitly promises access for their $$$! 🙄
One part that made me bark out a laugh, was the comment about “concern’s about his discretion”! 😆 Ummm, he has none! Zero, zip nada!
Regarding the above GOP congresscritter refusing a Town Hall meeting… It seems to be quite endemic!
In an unprecedented response, Republican voters/constituents are protesting against those they voted for. The GOP response is as expected: The GOP Congresscritters are simply dismissing their constituents, even going so far as to claim that they are only paid, professional activists rather than actual constituents! 😆
Hundreds of Republican lawmakers aren’t holding town halls this recess
I think the wheels are coming off! 😉 😀
The politicos are building new prisons so that they can privatize them. Privatized prisons need prisoners, and Drumpf will need someplace to incarcerate all the protesters and resisters (resistors :-D), and fake media people, not to mention all the American-born Muslims that they can’t deport.
I’m not cynical, oh, no!
Republicans are finding out the real attitudes of their constituents when it is possible that they might actually be about to make the changes they have been talking about for years. Many of these people don’t vote in primaries, but vote for the Republican party in the general because of the negative campaigning and incompetence of the Democrats. They never thought that the GOP would actually be in a position to enact their terrible policies.
Sorry, Аня, I started the response above and realized that if I didn’t go to the store I would be on short rations tonight.
I have serious doubts about the Constitutionality of private prisons. I don’t see how that can be delegated. It is too close to slavery for my taste, but it exists as does the corruption that keeps them full.
As you are aware, I’m too old for this crap. This clown may start a war with someone willing to use nuclear weapons.
Yeah, I know that feeling. And neither of us have any descendants to fight for. *shrug* Still… Not much else to do that’s really worth doing. 🙂
I came across this regarding the private prison system. From a NY female rapper that spent 8 yrs in prison. It was interesting. Starts about half way through the interview.
Remy Ma Never Rests
This pretty much sums up the Trumper circus in Florida:
“The Hill opined that Trump was looking to “energize the White House,” but it was Trump not his White House that needed some cheers, and that was what this completely unnecessary rally was about: self-gratification and escape from a job he doesn’t know how to do – all on the public’s dime.”
Trump’s Completely Unnecessary Rally Was All About Getting Cheers for His Lies
And this article after the circus:
The National Enquirer, Facebook, And Russia Today — Here’s What Some Trump Supporters Read To Get The News
A few other things…
Trumper tweeted:
“Will be having many meetings this weekend at The Southern White House. Big 5:00 P.M. speech in Melbourne, Florida. A lot to talk about!”
Wasn’t “The Southern White House” the nickname for the White House of the Confederacy, in Richmond, VA? 🙄
From NYT: “PBS, NEA, AmeriCorps, Legal Services Corp to be eliminated in prelim Trump budget.”
Major Garrett (CBS) Tweeted:
“News: Am told by two people familiar with the matter that Navy Secretary nominee Philip Bilden is likely to withdraw.” Also: “Army Secretary withdrew. Harward and Petraeus have withdrawn.”
Laura Rozen tweeted: “Just was told Trump told KT McFarland to pick her new boss. She named Bolton. see where this goes”
Brandon Friedman tweeted:
“Trump’s recruiting problem deepens: He’s seen as a loser surrounded by amateurs. Pro’s won’t bite.”
And: “Mattis has immense leverage now. Trump has to give him what he wants. If he leaves, the White House enters a national security death spiral.”
And: “More than 100K immigrants have naturalized in the military since 2001, creating scenarios of troops detaining family, friends and neighbors.”
A suspicious pattern is emerging for how the White House handles its most controversial plans
Trump ignores ‘the grown-ups’ in his Cabinet
White House dismisses NSC aide after harsh criticism of Trump
This whole operation is FUBAR and the people at his rallies better come to grips with that they are just as responsible as he is. They are enabling the desolation of Drumpf which has just sent a carrier battle group into the South China Sea. This will provoke the Chinese, but for what purpose? The Philippines have already shifted into the Chinese sphere of influence, so the US is weaker than ever in the region. South Korea is in the middle of a political melodrama while North Korea is reminding the world that the Korean War is suspended, not over. The Japanese are still trying to figure out WTF happened in that restaurant and why?
He tossed away decades of American positioning with Israel and probably ended its existence based on advice from his son-in-law. Israel can be a Jewish state or a democracy, but not both. As a single state Jews are or will soon be in the minority. To stay in power, the Likudniks will have to openly endorse the apartheid they have been instituting for years. If it isn’t a democracy the EU sanctions will descend and the majority of US Jewish support will go away.
What few professionals he had are leaving the chaos. It’s one thing to work for ignorant incompetent, but a much lower level of Hell when he starts telling you how to do your job.
The Southern White House is the second White House of the Confederacy in Richmond, Virginia, the first being in Montgomery, Alabama. The ‘Tiny White House’ of Harry Truman is in Key West, Florida. Trump wastes millions of US tax dollars flying down to Mar-a-Lago every weekend. Since he isn’t going to do anything about Climate Change, he may as well change the name to Mar, because the Atlantic will be flowing over the island in a few years.
John Bolton – that will chase out anyone with any pretense of professionalism.
Yes. FUBAR it is.
Here… This might help. 😀 It’s highly… satirical & full of irony! From the Brisbane Times (Not a publication on my normal reading list! I may have to change that.) 😆
The Swedish terror that only Donald Trump was brave enough to call out
Subheading: Kudos to the US president, a man who the grateful Swedes can proudly hail as their honorary “skrämmande rasistisk bedragare med avföring för hjärnor”!
And so on! 😆
“Appalling racist fraud with shit for brains” might tend to hyperbole. Schmuck pretty much covers it if you are a New Yorker. I was editing my post while you were commenting, and I heard/read about the moose but couldn’t find the article later.
There was a funny/nasty tweet by a US guy ‘standing with Sweden in their hour of need’ because they stood with the US after the Bowling Green Massacre. Trump is a dangerous embarrassment to the US.
Bernie is tweeting up a storm! LOL BT (Before Trumper) Bernie only tweeted occasionally, now it’s several times a day. Good on him! 😀 He has 2 accounts he uses, a personal & a Senator acct. He uses them for different tweets. The Senatorial acct is more restrained in the language used. His personal one, not so much! 😀
Just posted these 4:
Lincoln said “Of the people, by the people, and for the people,” not “Of the billionaires, by the billionaires, and for the billionaires.”
If you’re rich and powerful and commit illegal behavior you get promoted to the president’s cabinet. There’s something very wrong with that.
Trump vilifies undocumented immigrants but is unconcerned about the illegal behavior of Wall Street that caused millions to lose their jobs.
Our job today: strengthen Obamacare and stop the repeal. Tomorrow, we must join the rest of the world and guarantee health care for all.
Sally Yates is pretty active on Twitter also now! Firing her freed her and she’s unleashing hell! LOL Also, she’s pretty happy that her main acct has been blocked from viewing the tweets of Trump, Pence, Bannon & others in Admin. 😆 Apparently, they have no clue that people can (and many do) have multiple accounts for assorted reasons. She was laughing about the petty stupidity they show. 😆
Her latest:
This is the first time in history where the British Parliament is having a debate whether or not to ban a U.S president. Trump = disgrace!
Hundreds outside Trump Int’l Hotel & Tower in New York for a ‘Not My Presidents Day’ rally.
3 weeks ago when I warned Trump about Mike Flynn’s Russian links, he sacked me. 2 weeks later Flynn was exposed and he resigned.
I also follow Ruth Hopkins @RuthHHopkins
Her Twitter bio: Award winning Dakota/Lakota Sioux writer for Indian Country Today. Last Real Indians co-founder. Featured everywhere. Author, Blogger, Biologist, Judge, Rez NDN
She just tweeted:
Like Keystone XL, Much of Dakota Access Pipeline Steel Made by Russian Company Tied to Putin.
Oh, TPM posted this article:
A Big Shoe Just Dropped
Hmmm. What do you think of this Bryan?
Donald Trump Names H.R. McMaster As National Security Adviser
The Aussie press is finally waking up. Thanks to both Turnbull & Trump:
Australia can’t trust America with the ‘mad king’ Donald Trump in power
I think if General McMaster attempts to do the job as he sees fit, his stay will be shorter than Flynn’s. He is known to be ‘brutally honest’ and annoyingly correct in his judgements. He has close and strong ties with reality, so I can’t imagine him getting along with Bannon or KT McFarland. He will tell Drumpf what he believes the POTUS needs to know rather than parroting what the SCROTUS wants to hear.
No one should rely on anything SCROTUS says or claims.
General McMaster wrote “the” book on the conduct of the U.S. military high command during the Vietnam War, entitled Dereliction of Duty, where he argued that the military leadership failed their duty to America and their duty of office by not telling McNamara and LBJ that they were full of it and that the proposed strategy for “victory” was unworkable and doomed to failure.
Yeah, this is going to be fun. (Sits back and munches popcorn.)
As a serving officer he didn’t have a lot of choice when he was offered the job other than “Yes Sir!” and “Sorry, but I’m retiring.” Trump must really believe the fairy tales that Bannon has been telling him, and thinks that those are the truths that McMaster is going to confirm. I think they are both in for a shock.
I hope you’re both right. 🙂 Time will tell, of course.
Check this:
Rogue POTUS Staff: Statement of Purpose
The guy won’t ever admit a mistake – it isn’t in his makeup.
I love Politico’s takeaway on McMaster. This is going to be fun :).
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/hr-mcmaster-appointment-takeaways-235233?cmpid=sf
“McMaster’s takeaways: Don’t lie, don’t blame the media, don’t rely on an inner circle.”
Which of course is 100% opposite of how Trump does things. Cue fireworks in 3… 2… 1… 🙂 .
McMaster will resign rather than play along if he stays at all true to his entire career. I can’t understand his selection by Trump.
The President doesn’t have to accept the resignation of an active-duty military officer. Officers, unlike enlisted, serve at the will of the President. If the President says “no, you can’t resign, I’m ordering you to stay”, well. So if McMaster “resigns”, you know he was actually fired.
It’s a bit trickier than that. He would have to resign his commission and say good bye to his accumulated benefits to actually get out of it. General officials can be recalled to duty and are subject to military law if they retire, because retirement only means they don’t have to go to work any more unless they are recalled. Anyone in the military can be retained on a ‘stop-loss'[ order. My Dad was held over, and I was worrying about one when I got out. When you work in a specialty with only a few others, things get complicated and ‘stop-loss’ orders were common during the Shrubbery’s wars.