>just saying that we need a national security apparatus free from political influences. We had enough of that for the last eight years under Obama.
I disagree. The day of being free of political influences is over. The left made politics personal and deadly. We either fight fire with fire or watch our children being rounded up for orderly disposal by the New Bolsheviks.
Political influences can have the effect of discouraging healthy dissent, contrary information, and opposing views. You don’t want intelligence analysts and policy makers repressing information because of fear of going against the party line. I hope you will agree that, in order to make the best decisions, its imperative to hear all the evidence and arguments. Only then can you develop the right strategy.
Not saying this is necessarily going to happen with Bannon but the perception in the IC could quickly develop into one that causes people to hold back if they perceive (rightly or wrongly) that their views will be unwelcomed. That’s my main concern.
With respect to the left making politics personal and deadly, I totally agree with you on that. We do need to fight back forcefully, but we also need to protect the homeland and we need the best minds thinking outside the box to do it.