Posted on 02/21/2017 11:20:59 AM PST by Texas Fossil
President Trump has chosen General H.R. McMaster as the national security adviser and there’s plenty to be happy about. Below are five points to consider with his choice.
General McMaster is known for winning the most difficult of battles. As explained in this lengthy New Yorker article from 2006, he performed an amazing turnaround in the city of Tal Afar in Iraq. I remember when he arrived in 2005 and shocked observers by needing only about six months to change the situation by building strong relationships with Iraqis on the ground to kick the jihadists out and to quickly build up the local police force.
His warrior side will come in handy as the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan bluntly refers to the situation as a "stalemate" requiring several thousand more troops for progress to happen.
He will never forget how Iran killed our servicemen and women in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. McMaster blasted the media for repeatedly referring to “alleged” Iranian support for militias and targets, saying it was “damn obvious to anybody who wants to look into it” that Iran’s proxy warfare against our troops was confirmed. He will never forget or forgive the Iranian regime for harming his brothers and sisters in the U.S. military.
He criticizes the “"almost narcissistic" U.S. expectations in Iraq and Afghanistan that don’t take into account the limitations of our abilities to shape those situations. Authorities on counter-insurgency like McMaster, Mattis and Petraeus are often criticized of pursing idealistic nation-building, but McMaster’s words reflect a realism about what can and cannot be achieved.
He wrote an acclaimed book about the Vietnam War, Deriliction of Duty: Johnson, McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Lies That Led to Vietnam. The title alone shows he is cynical towards the senior political class. If you are skeptical about President Trump, you can rest assured that McMaster will not be a puppet.
Jihad Watch just broke the story that McMaster said the “Islamic State is not Islamic” in a 2014 lecture. Comments like that by the Obama Administration were rightly criticized and so must his.
However, we should be fair to McMaster. Did he say it because he doesn’t believe we should focus on the radical Islamic ideology or, more optimistically, he does understand the ideology and was using the line to try to undermine ISIS’ legitimacy?
Again looks like a very good choice by Trump
very concerning that the left is all for this guy
#6 - McMaster is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, as is his deputy, K.T. McFarland.
Mcmaster — and the rest of the Trump cabinet — need to make any differences in opinion known, but only to an extent.
Every team needs a leader and at some point, team members need to accept the decisions of the leader and execute. You can’t have everyone running around doing their own thing.
When the quarterback makes the call, all the players have to do their best to execute like a well-oiled machine.
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Not happy about that.
I do think highly of him for focusing on Iran’s involvement with terrorists in Iraq.
“Islamic State is not Islamic”
Color me skeptical. Why not provide a full quote and the context in which the quote was made?
Smells like fake news...
He has to tow the president’s line, so I won’t hold that against him.
He won’t be as close to POTUS as Flynn was. It will be interesting to see how this goes.
"McMaster is a racist, homophobe, Islamophobe, misogynist, nazi" -MSNBCPBSNPRNYTCBSNBCABCWAPO
Flynn was a good choice. I believe this one will be too.
Trump has picked some excellent candidates. It is a skill he has refined. Picking the right people.
The naysayers are framing Trump in a totally false way. Trump is an intellectually curious person who enjoys the exchange of ideas. He has studied the military, beginning with his time in a military HS.
What's my point? We don't yet know what a meeting of the minds will look like. I would've preferred that Flynn held the position, but unfortunately it does seem that he made some missteps which could be used to discredit him.
I never said Flynn was a bad choice.
I have been told he had a financial interest in a company connected to Turkey.
I would've preferred that Flynn held the position, but unfortunately it does seem that he made some missteps which could be used to discredit him.
An additional perspective.
Yes, I saw that.
ISIS is self de-ligitimizing.
Why do you say that?
From all I hear and read, this is a very good choice. So glad the neocon perpetual war pusher did not get this critical post.
Actually it is the real secret why he became a multi-Billionaire.
agree.
Very good judgment too.
Check the link. There’s a story out there making the rounds that Flynn was part of a sting operation to expose the leaks in the Intelligence community.
TIFWIW.
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