Posted on 10/09/2010 3:41:39 AM PDT by yoe
The news is coming so thick and fast these days one can hardly keep up with it, let alone comment intelligently. But we should at least note that Marine General Jim Jones resigned as President Obama's National Security Adviser today, and will be replaced by political operative Tom Donilon.
It is hard to remember now, but shortly after his election, Obama's selection of Gen. Jones as national security adviser, along with a handful of similar appointments, caused us and other observers who are ( even more knowledgeable) to hail what seemed to be a reassuringly moderate trend in Obama's nascent foreign policy. Those days are long gone now, and it seems that Jones never had much influence. Reuters reports that Jones was "often portrayed as an outsider who struggled to make his voice heard over Obama's close-knit group of advisers who were with him on his 2008 election campaign."
Donilon is cut from a different cloth:
In veteran U.S. journalist Bob Woodward's new book "Obama's Wars," which gives an inside look at how Obama crafted his Afghan war strategy, Donilon is shown as deeply skeptical of a big troop increase in Afghanistan.
In other words, he agrees with the President. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told Woodward that it would be a "disaster" if Donilon were to become National Security Adviser, but Gates (now says) he has a "good working relationship" with Donilon, "contrary to what you may have read." That seems like less than a recantation.
(Andy McCarthy) meanwhile, skewers the New York Times' characterization of Donilon as a "non-ideological pragmatist." Of course, to the Times, Paul Krugman is a non-ideological pragmatist. Andy notes that Donilon's boss, General Jones, like Gates, has reservations about him:
Jones echoed criticisms that Donilon lacked critical national security experience and existed in a lawyer's bunker, his power stemming from his status as a Democratic fixer who has the president's ear -- an ear Donilon routinely fills with "snap judgments" and "absolute declarations" about places he's never been to, foreign officials he's never met, and a military with which he has no credibility.
Donilon's appointment is one more sign that President Obama is abandoning any pretense of moderation, and is instead lurching to the left, surrounding himself with people with whom he is comfortable--Democratic Party political operatives--rather than those with whom he is not comfortable, like military men.
PAUL adds: Donilon actually is a pragmatist, though not a particularly non-ideological one. That's another way of saying that he's a thorough-going political animal.
There's a place for that species in every administration, but the place isn't National Security Adviser. By putting Donilon in that post, instead of, say, chief of staff where it was rumored he might end up, the president confirms that, for him, national security is subservient to politics. Of course, the formulation of the administration's Afghanistan policy, and the polilcy itself, had already demonstrated this.
UPDATE: (More on Donilon's background.) If you wondered whether my description of him as a political operative was fair, read on:
For a long time, Donilon lived his life from presidential campaign to campaign.
The Democratic operative worked on his first Democratic National Convention at 24, and he's been helping elect candidates ever since. He has worked for Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Joseph R. Biden. ...
He was a registered lobbyist from 1999 through 2005, and his sole client was Fannie Mae. ... His brother is Michael C. Donilon, a counselor to Vice President Joseph R. Biden. His wife, Cathy Russell, is Jill Biden's chief of staff.
Yes, and now he is President Obama's National Security Adviser. This would be a bad joke, except...it isn't a joke.
Attributing a misstep to DumBO is a disservice to another stab in the heart of America.
Yes: It isn’t a misstep, it’s all a part of the plan.
If we dont get rid of this guy we are going down.
Vote no incumbents.
I agree, BO is not stupid. He’s also not an American, not Christian, and not working to keep or make America strong.
He’s “de-developing” America as his science czar stated.
Obama continues to push the envelope. “Push the envelope” was popularized by Wolfe in The Right Stuff, comes from the test pilots. It’s a mathmatical chart, inside the curve you are safe. Outside of it you are not. When a test pilot pushes the envelope he goes to the limits of safety. I think that Obama pushed through long ago. We have felt the effects in economics, but this insanity in foreign policy could have even worse effects.
Obama is a monster.
This is the scenario we Freepers forecast in the transition in’08: the moderates would be the fig-leaf while Obama got his people positioned for the radicalization during the second half of the term. Not failing to take advantage of a crisis, Obama will want to see the military humbled and possibly bloodied, so that the American public sees intervention abroad in “post Viet Nam” terms. The CBS poll a about public support of Israel in confrontation with Iran shows how perilously close we are to that already.
Most of us were not fooled by any “moderate” trend in the Obama administration. Shame on Gen Jones for selling his military soul for a few pieces of silver. He has no credibility.
Bump.
Since the Kenyan Clown has been a rabid left-wing ideologue his whole life, only the most credulous would have believed any pretence of moderation on his part. Being a community agitator is a profession that Lenin would have understood very well.
Hmmm. I would have to say that the General was not listened to anyway and was just a face. His leaving upset me, too, but this new piece of clay reveals more of what lies behind the doors of the White House.
Once again, over and over, you good folks just don’t get it. Let me repeat it for you, one more time clear and simple. POTUS Barack Hussein (Jackass) Obama and his wife Michelle hate the United States of America in their very hearts and souls!!! They, along with their traitor Democrat Party want to destroy America and Americans along with it, all Americans. The sooner you good folks realize that, the better off our great country will be. Vote on November 2, 2010 to totally destroy the Democrat Party. There is no such person as a loyal, good and patriotic Democrat, period!!!!
yah...Woodward’s book is turning out to be one hell of a lot more prescient about Mullah Hussein’s Regime than anyone originally thought.
Donilon as the National Security Advisor is extremely troubling. The last time we let a political hack with this little practical experience and bad attitude about the military take over a job with this much importance was when Clinton appointed Les Aspin as Secretary of Defense, which in my opinion led directly to the Black Hawk Down incident. Aspin largely got a pass on that because of his health, and because he died about 2 years after it happened and before most of the Country really understood what happened.
Les Aspin was no friend of the military, and neither is Donilon.
Here we go again.
“His leaving upset me”
Not me, hopefully he’ll start speaking out and letting people know all about Obama from an insider’s perspective.
If he just fades awy that will be bad.
Sing General sing!
I caught part of the Mark Shields-David Brooks segment on the Lehrer News Hour yesterday evening. Brooks (the pro-Obama, pro-abortion, pro-gay “marriage,” anti-Palin “conversative”) was saying that Gen. Jones’ duty was to serve the President, so if it didn’t work out it was Jones’ fault. Shields (a former Marine) was less critical of the general.
(Andy McCarthy) meanwhile, skewers the New York Times' characterization of Donilon as a "non-ideological pragmatist." Of course, to the Times, Paul Krugman is a non-ideological pragmatist. Andy notes that Donilon's boss, General Jones, like Gates, has reservations about him:Jones echoed criticisms that Donilon lacked critical national security experience and existed in a lawyer's bunker, his power stemming from his status as a Democratic fixer who has the president's ear -- an ear Donilon routinely fills with "snap judgments" and "absolute declarations" about places he's never been to, foreign officials he's never met, and a military with which he has no credibility.Donilon's appointment is one more sign that President Obama is abandoning any pretense of moderation, and is instead lurching to the left, surrounding himself with people with whom he is comfortable--Democratic Party political operatives
Reprehensible and appalling, if true! This
traitorist crew ONLY cares about politics ..
they could care less about our security or
honorable governance, as they pledged with
their sacred oaths.
Damn them all. God protect us through the
midterms, and throughout this tyrant’s term.
~~~~~~~~~~~
“Jones echoed criticisms that Donilon lacked critical national security experience and existed in a lawyer’s bunker, his power stemming from his status as a Democratic fixer who has the president’s ear — an ear Donilon routinely fills with “snap judgments” and “absolute declarations” about places he’s never been to, foreign officials he’s never met, and a military with which he has no credibility.”
~~~~
FYI
“When he got his hands on an advance copy of Bob Woodward’s new book “Obama’s Wars” before it hit stores and started reading it earlier this month, I’m told that White House National Security Adviser Jim Jones simply blew a gasket.
Jones was so furious about his portrayal in the book that the retired four-star general told friends later that he promptly took the book and mailed it back to Woodward, as if to say the book wasn’t worth the paper it was printed on, according to a close friend of his who spoke to me on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the national security adviser’s private conversations.”
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2010/10/08/woodward-book-sealed-gen-jones-fate/#ixzz11uvzw7Cm
I’m dense; I don’t get what criticisms Jones was angry about...any elucidations welcome!
Jones probably has a huge ego, but as we know,
the tyrant team is ALL political ALL the time.
This give more detailed background:
HOW BOB WOODWARD DROVE THE NAIL IN JIM JONES’S COFFIN
###
The book revealed that Jones confronted Emanuel for dealing with Donilon instead of him, telling him once, “I’m the national security advisor. When you come down there, come see me.”
By Josh Rogins — foreignpolicy.com
General James Jones national security adviser resigns.
Jim Jones was preparing to leave his job as national security advisor in early 2011, according to Bob Woodward’s Obama’s Wars.
Ironically, controversy erupting from that very same book may have contributed to Jones speeding up that schedule by several months; President Obama will announce his departure today, and that his replacement will be his deputy, Tom Donilon.
Immediate reaction within the administration to Jones’s resignation was consistent with the long-held view that Jones was never able to be effective as national security advisor because he was outside of Obama’s inner circle and was intellectually and sometimes physically cut out of major foreign policy discussions
*snip*
But if Obama wanted Jones to help him deal with the military, that also didn’t bear out. Woodward details several instances where Jones finds himself in open conflict with the military brass, led by Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Michael Mullen. In the administration’s debates over increasing troop levels in Afghanistan, Jones often raised the prospect of sending far fewer troops than the 40,000 requested by Mullen and Gen. Stanley McChrystal, arguing that the military hadn’t proven its need for so many new troops.
The last salvo against Jones from Woodward came during the author’s Oct. 5 interview with Charlie Rose, where he said that Jones had failed in his fundamental duty to give frank advice to the president because he held back on his assessment that only 20,000 additional troops were needed in Afghanistan.
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2010/10/08/how-bob-woodward-drove-the-nail-in-jim-joness-coffin/
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