Who are Joe Biden's foreign policy and national security advisers?

Twitter ^ | Nov 24 | Kevin Gosztola

[RandFan]

@kgosztola

The Biden-Harris Transition released a list of individuals who are briefing President-elect Joe Biden on national security matters.

Here's a thread examining each of these people.

Lloyd Austin

Lloyd Austin is a retired four-star military general, who was the commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM) from 2013-2016 under President Obama. He was responsible for operations in Middle East and central and south Asia. He oversaw campaigns against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

As a bio for him celebrates, Austin was an assistant division commander in the 3rd Infantry Division. He helped "spearhead the invasion into Iraq in March 2003." He boasts about US military forces leaving Kuwait and seizing Baghdad "in a record 22 days."

During a Senate hearing in March 2014, Austin backed immunity for US troops from war crimes prosecutions by Afghan government.

"It's important to have the adequate protections and immunities for our troops if they're going to continue to operate in theater."

Tony Blinken

Tony Blinken was deputy secretary of state in the Obama administration. He was national security adviser to Biden during Obama's first tem.

From 1994 to 2001, he was part of President Bill Clinton's National Security Council.

Jonathan Guyer of The American Prospect reported on Blinken in July.

Blinken co-founded WestExec Advisors with Michelle Flournoy, a hawk. He cashed "in on his international connections" and "years of face time with Saudi, Israeli, and Chinese leaders."

After the Ghouta chemical attack in Syria on August 21, 2013, Blinken provided Congress with a briefing on the attack.

Blinken said Congress would recognize, "Chemical weapons were used on August 21 against civilians in Syria, and the Assad regime is the one that used them."

Journalist Seymour Hersh reported on cherry-picking of intelligence. Officials overlooked evidence intel agencies knew that al Nusra, a group affiliated with al Qaida, had "mastered mechanics of creating sarin & was capable of manufacturing" it in Syria.

Nicholas Burns

Nicholas Burns was part of President George W. Bush's administration and Clinton administration. He was a spokesperson for State Department when Madeleine Albright was secretary of state. He backed the Iraq War. He is on the board of directors for Atlantic Council.

At a speaking event in 2015, Burns said he supported the Iraq War when he was in the Bush administration. Burns also attacked NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. "He went to China and Russia. That is why I dislike Snowden."

Snowden went to Hong Kong and never was in mainland China. The State Department revoked his passport, which is why he became stuck in Russia. He never planned to end up there.

It was Biden who pressured countries like Ecuador into refusing to grant Snowden asylum.

David S. Cohen

David S. Cohen was a deputy director of CIA from 2015-2017. His bio at the Big Law firm WilmerHale says he focused on how US companies "could advance the CIA's mission." He was under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence in Treasury Department in Obama admin.

Cohen's WilmerHale bio indicates he was instrumental in developing sanctions for Iran, Russia, North Korea, ISIS, al Qaida, etc. He was Obama's "favorite combatant commander" or the admin's "financial Batman." He's also been referred to as a "sanctions guru."

The UN chief warned in October 2015 that sanctions on Iran had escalated inflation, spurred rise in commodities and energy costs, increased unemployment, and led to medicine shortages.

But Cohen boasted about impact sanctions had on Iran, saying rial had "dropped like a rock."

Avril Haines

Avril Haines was a principal deputy national security adviser to Obama. In 2013, she was appointed CIA deputy director. She also held a number of senior legal positions in the Obama admin.

She is a member of CNAS, a think tank funded by weapons contractors.

Spencer Ackerman covered Haines' history as CIA deputy director. She backed "Gina Haspel for CIA director, someone directly implicated in CIA torture."

"Until late June, she consulted for Trump-favorite data firm Palantir, which emerged from CIA."

While Haines apparently fought for some restrictions on CIA drone strikes, she represented the CIA's interests when it came to the Senate torture report and was accused of trying to help the agency conceal certain findings from declassification.

After the CIA spied on the Senate intelligence committee's work, Haines accepted there was no reason to discipline or hold anyone at the CIA accountable. It was one of her last acts as the agency's deputy director.

Kathleen Hicks

Kathleen Hicks was principal deputy under secretary of defense for policy in Obama admin.

She is senior vice president, Henry Kissinger Chair, & director of International Security Program at Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) & leader of Biden's Pentagon team.

In a previous thread on agency review team appointments, I covered the weapons manufacturers, big banks, and various fossil fuel corporations that fund CSIS.

Stanley McChrystal

Stanley McChrystal is a retired general who commanded US and International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) in Afghanistan. He led Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), overseeing a kill list and operations that involved deadly night raids.

In Jeremy Scahill's book, "Dirty Wars," an entire chapter was dedicated to McChrystal, "The Troublemaker."

Douglas MacGregor, a career military officer, said McChrystal ingratiated himself with neoconservatives, particularly Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney.

McChrystal, according to one retired officer quoted in "Dirty Wars," believed he "presided over this black world where any actions were justified against Muslims" because the US was "fighting against the Caliphate."

Scahill's book thoroughly details a torture scandal that erupted around Camp Nama [Nasty Ass Military Area], which was run by JSOC. CIA general counsel Scott Muller said torture techniques at Nama were "more aggressive" than techniques the CIA was using.

In his memoir, according to Scahill, McChrystal said torture was result of "lapses of discipline among individual members." Systematized torture never happened. "That wasn't the case before I assumed command and wasn't true under my command nor under my successors."

Here's an example of the sadistic violence that occurred regularly at Camp Nama. This is partly why the Red Cross was not permitted to visit, and this violence happened on under McChrystal's command.

There is next to no accountability for torture. So, let's throw out another horrific example that implicates McChrystal. This one involves mud and a cold hose.

Scahill is very clear in "Dirty Wars." McChrystal systematized "mass killing and detention of suspected insurgents in Iraq." He convinced Obama to "surge" troops in Afghanistan and "escalated JSOC-style night raids and expanded list of names on kill list."

McChrystal, engaged in a cover-up of former NFL player Pat Tillman's death.

William McRaven

William McRaven was the commander of US Special Operations Command from 2011-2014 under Obama. He's most known for overseeing the bin Laden raid. But McRaven was an architect of Obama's assassination policy and a fixture in Terror Tuesday meetings (along with John Brennan).

[Celerity]

McChrystal is dangerous but as long as wesley Clark isn’t on that list things won’t be too out of hand.

[pnz1]

Isn’t he doing a press conference now naming them?

[Stravinsky]

So many scumbags on that list. And it’s interesting that anti-Trump asshat McChrystal is back with Biden after all the drama when Obama was President.

[Vaduz]

The data came with all the cash he just has to be told it often you know that thing.

[kenmcg]

Bought and paid for by the Chi-Coms!

[bgill]

All enemies foreign and domestic.

[ReleaseTheHounds]

Why not just refer to them as Commie 1, Commie 2, ets.

[blueplum]

Tony Blinkin - headed shadow govt since 2018