Replies

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Bannon

Bannon was an officer in the United States Navy for seven years in the late 1970s and early 1980s, serving on the destroyer USS Paul F. Foster as a surface warfare officer in the Pacific Fleet and stateside as a special assistant to the Chief of Naval Operations at the Pentagon.[34] Upon his departure he was ranked as a lieutenant (O-3).

After his military service, Bannon worked at Goldman Sachs as an investment banker in the Mergers and Acquisitions Department.[36]When he left the company he held the position of vice president.[37][b] In 1990, Bannon and several colleagues from Goldman Sachs launched Bannon & Co., a boutique investment bank specializing in media. Through this company, Bannon negotiated the sale of Castle Rock Entertainment to Ted Turner. As payment, Bannon & Co. accepted a financial stake in five television shows, including Seinfeld. Société Générale purchased Bannon & Co. in 1998.[32]

In 1993, while still managing Bannon & Co., Bannon was made acting director of the Earth-science research project Biosphere 2 in Oracle, Arizona. Under Bannon, the project shifted emphasis from researching space exploration and colonization toward pollution and global warming. He left the project in 1995.[39][40]

In the 1990s, Bannon ventured into the entertainment and media industry. He became an executive producer in the Hollywood film and media industry. Bannon produced 18 films[26] from the 1992 Sean Penn drama The Indian Runner to executive producing Julie Taymor’s 1999 film Titus. Bannon became a partner with entertainment industry executive Jeff Kwatinetz at The Firm, Inc., a film and television management company.[32]

In 2004, Bannon made a documentary about Ronald Reagan titled In the Face of Evil. Through the making and screening of this film, Bannon was introduced to Peter Schweizer and publisher Andrew Breitbart, who would later describe him as the Leni Riefenstahl of the Tea Party movement.[32] He was involved in the financing and production of a number of films, including Fire from the Heartland: The Awakening of the Conservative Woman, The Undefeated (on Sarah Palin), and Occupy Unmasked.

Bannon persuaded Goldman Sachs to invest, in 2006, in a company known as Internet Gaming Entertainment.[41] Following a lawsuit, the company rebranded as Affinity Media and Bannon took over as CEO. From 2007 through 2011, Bannon was the chair and CEO of Affinity Media.[42][43]

In 2007, Bannon wrote an eight-page treatment for a new documentary called Destroying the Great Satan: The Rise of Islamic Facism (sic) in America. The outline describes Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Islamic Society of North America as “cultural jihadists”. Bannon wrote the outline himself, and it labels the Washington Post, the New York Times, NPR, “Universities and the Left”, the “American Jewish Community”, the ACLU, the CIA, the FBI, the State Department, and the White House as “enablers” of a covert mission to establish an Islamic Republic in the United States.[44] In 2011, Bannon spoke at the “Liberty Restoration Foundation” in Orlando, Florida about the Economic Crisis of 2008, the potential impact on Medicare and Medicaid, and his 2010 film Generation Zero.[45]

Bannon was executive chair and co-founder of the Government Accountability Institute, a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization, where he helped orchestrate the publication of the book Clinton Cash,[32][46] from its founding in 2012 until he left in August 2016.[47] For the years 2012 through 2015, he received between $81,000 and $100,000 each year; the organization reported that he worked an average of 30 hours per week for the organization.[47]

In 2015, Bannon was ranked No. 19 on Mediaite’s list of the “25 Most Influential in Political News Media 2015”.[48]

Bannon also hosted a radio show (Breitbart News Daily) on the SiriusXM Patriot satellite radio channel.[49]

- - - -

Sean Spicer said that if Lt. Gen. Herbert Raymond McMaster does not want such a person on the National Security Council, President Donald J. Trump would seriously consider it. What, do you think, are the chances of that happening?

The way it works at the top of the food chain:

1. Flag officers offered roles of responsibility want a complete field in which to operate. Because they think in terms of responsibility, they are very focused on communications because any problem in communications, no matter how small, can grow into a larger problem for which the noose is placed around their neck. So, they want people around them to be completely in tune with their thoughts and instructions. No tolerance for error.

(I’ve actually witnessed the fallout when two flag ranking officers are ready to kill each other over a mistake made by underlings and for which a mutual schedule is impacted. So at this level, the word ‘big’ does not always describe adequately the egos involved. On the other hand, I have seen flag rank officers that are calm, gracious, unemotional and trusting but commanding inside a situation gone bad)

2. The President receives daily National Security briefings and we can imagine that most if not all of these are attended by the Director of National Security. However, a written briefing for the President’s eyes only and those of his circles like Mr. Bannon and VP Pence is handed to the President and he necessarily must review its contents or place complete trust in either Advisor Bannon or VP Pence, or other persons.

3. Other eyes on the written briefing can be a cause of concern, can be, because the chain of responsibility may be looped and made less direct. This can interfere with the Director’s trust and vice versa. It takes a little while for the parties to understand how to work together and execute flawlessly. But it must be flawless.

4. In order to be economical with time, the President may outline some broad considerations that he wants the Director to consider or act on. These communications may come through Advisor Bannon and conversely, the Director may hand a briefing for Mr. Bannon’s review before finalizing and attending the briefing.

So, the bottom line is the time management facilitated for the President must be as efficient and complete as possible. It is critical that the President give and receive communications to and from his circle without any problems.

Now as to this possible bit of ‘fake news’, it could be from the President as a head fake to see again who the leakers are, or it could be an invitation to see how McMaster responds.

Many have said McMaster is an excellent choice because of his exemplary combat performance as a Colonel in Iraq. But a funny thing happens to the minds of Colonels on their way into the flag ranks and especially the highest levels of the White House. The become increasingly political.

McMaster is said to be a disciple of Petraeus. That statement was made in a sea of Oohrahs as support for such a wise choice. If it is true that McMaster is a disciple of Petraeus, I am not feeling as enthusiastic as I would be if he weren’t.