Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

H.R. McMaster Breaks With Administration on Views of Islam (Won't Say Radical Islamic Terrorism)
New York Times ^ | February 24, 2017 | By MARK LANDLER and ERIC SCHMITT

Posted on 02/24/2017 10:14:20 PM PST by Pinkbell

WASHINGTON — President Trump’s newly appointed national security adviser has told his staff that Muslims who commit terrorist acts are perverting their religion, rejecting a key ideological view of other senior Trump advisers and signaling a potentially more moderate approach to the Islamic world.

The adviser, Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster, told the staff of the National Security Council on Thursday, in his first “all hands” staff meeting, that the label “radical Islamic terrorism” was not helpful because terrorists are “un-Islamic,” according to people who were in the meeting.

That is a repudiation of the language regularly used by both the president and General McMaster’s predecessor, Michael T. Flynn, who resigned last week after admitting that he had misled Vice President Mike Pence and other officials about a phone call with a Russian diplomat.

It is also a sign that General McMaster, a veteran of the Iraq war known for his sense of history and independent streak, might move the council away from the ideologically charged views of Mr. Flynn, who was also a three-star Army general before retiring.

Wearing his Army uniform, General McMaster spoke to a group that has been rattled and deeply demoralized after weeks of upheaval, following a haphazard transition from the Obama administration and amid the questions about links to Russia, which swiftly engulfed Mr. Flynn.

General McMaster, several officials said, has been vocal about his views on dealing with Islamic militancy, including with Mr. Trump, who on Monday described him as “a man of tremendous talent, tremendous experience.” General McMaster got the job after Mr. Trump’s first choice, Robert S. Harward, a retired Navy vice admiral, turned it down.

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: mcmaster; mcmasterisis; nationalsecurity; nsa; nsc; radicalislam; third100days; trump; trump45; trumpnsc
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 81-100101-120121-140141-156 next last
To: Spiridon
"I saw a video clip of McMaster using the term “Daesh” the other day to describe Islamic State and so I’m not surprised here."

Just like John Kerry. This McMaster douchebag is rotten to the core. He also served the usurper Obama, which was a clear violation of his sworn oath to defend the Constitution.

101 posted on 02/25/2017 3:15:53 AM PST by Godebert (CRUZ: Born in a foreign land to a foreign father.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Helicondelta

Fake news.


102 posted on 02/25/2017 3:22:03 AM PST by RoosterRedux
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 26 | View Replies]

To: Jyotishi

ISIS’ chief caliph has a PhD in Islamic Studies. One could also interview the Iranian Imams. This opinion is retarded and backward. Not at all helpful in National Security.


103 posted on 02/25/2017 3:39:09 AM PST by Paladin2 (No spellcheck. It's too much work to undo the auto wrong word substitution on mobile devices.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 29 | View Replies]

To: itsahoot
If you think about it, it makes sense to drop the 'radical Islamic' part. What this phrase does is two things: it first gives the butchers the credibility to fly under the flag of a global political/religious belief system, and it gives the angry young muslims a hope to die for--glory in jihad.

I say that publicly we call them what they are: subhuman butchers who need to be exterminated.

Privately, governments know full well what is causing this, and can take some very firm steps to deal with this behind the scenes to wipe Islam off the face of the earth.

104 posted on 02/25/2017 4:14:58 AM PST by jimbug
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: itsahoot
I see all the concern trolls got their daily dose of worry-meat with the NYSlimes story - "Trump Hires Muslim Sympathizer as National Security Adviser"

Snowflakes do what snowflakes do and they ain't all on the DU site....

105 posted on 02/25/2017 4:19:49 AM PST by trebb (Where in the the hell has my country gone?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: IDontLikeToPayTaxes

I trust Trump knows what he is doing. Gen. McMaster’s Veteran’s Day speech 2014:

“The warrior ethos is at risk because fewer and fewer Americans are connected to our professional military. Separation from our society is consequential because warriors depend on respect for what they do to maintain their self-respect.

The warrior ethos is at risk because fewer and fewer Americans understand what is at stake in the wars in which we are engaged. How many Americans could, for example, name the three main Taliban organizations we are fighting in Afghanistan and Pakistan?

The warrior ethos is at risk because some argue that victory over an enemy or winning in war is an old idea that is no longer relevant in today’s complex world.

The warrior ethos is at risk because some continue to advocate simple, mainly technologically based solutions to the problem of future war, ignoring war’s very nature as a human and political activity that is fundamentally a contest of wills.

The warrior ethos is at risk because popular culture waters down and coarsens the warrior ethos. Warriors are most often portrayed as fragile traumatized human beings. Hollywood tells us little about the warrior’s calling or commitment to his or her fellow warriors or what compels him or her to act courageously, endure hardships, take risks, or make sacrifices.”


106 posted on 02/25/2017 4:23:38 AM PST by greatvikingone
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: All

His direct quote per shown above; one has to say what he said. A previous article was posted on this.

http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/3528300/posts (see post #7 )

http://canadafreepress.com/article/is-new-national-security-advisor-mcmaster-a-squish-on-isis

“We are engaged today, as General George C. Marshall’s generation was engaged, against enemies who pose a great threat to all civilized peoples. As our World War II generation defeated Nazi Fascism and Japanese imperialism, and as later generations defeated Communist totalitarianism, we will defeat today’s enemies, including terrorist organizations like Daesh, who cynically use a perverted interpretation of religion to incite hatred and justify horrific cruelty against innocents.”

Might be a bit different than how some are interpreting it.


107 posted on 02/25/2017 4:51:46 AM PST by BeadCounter
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: BeadCounter
Grammar apologies, first thing in the morning:

His direct quote per the article; one has to SEE what he said. A previous article was posted on this.

His exact quote.

“We are engaged today, as General George C. Marshall’s generation was engaged, against enemies who pose a great threat to all civilized peoples. As our World War II generation defeated Nazi Fascism and Japanese imperialism, and as later generations defeated Communist totalitarianism, we will defeat today’s enemies, including terrorist organizations like Daesh, who cynically use a perverted interpretation of religion to incite hatred and justify horrific cruelty against innocents.”

See links in previous post.

108 posted on 02/25/2017 4:56:10 AM PST by BeadCounter
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 107 | View Replies]

To: trebb

treble, remember what Steve Bannon said at CPAC yesterday: “Hold us accountable!”. That’s all folks are doing in many of these comments in this thread — holding them accountable. The terrorism and invasions we are facing now is ISLAMIC TERRORISM; it is not terrorism by some nasty folks who are “perverting the peaceful religion of Islam”. The terrorists ARE MUSLIMS and they are FAITHFULLY CARRYING OUT THE TENETS AND DICTATES OF ISLAM. If you don’t “get” that, you are as bad as McMaster.


109 posted on 02/25/2017 4:58:24 AM PST by House Atreides (Send BOTH Hillary & Bill to prison.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 105 | View Replies]

To: BeadCounter

At the same time, we do have various interpretations of Islam, that is why the Shias are fighting Salafists, Wahabbis. Whether one likes it or not, there are different versions. I’d call it all bad, a false theocracy at that but there are different versions. The Assads are Alawites, yet another strain of the religion while still being Shiites.


110 posted on 02/25/2017 5:01:24 AM PST by BeadCounter
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 108 | View Replies]

To: BeadCounter

What he said are words, if his doings are actually eliminating and defeating ISIS, that’s what is important.


111 posted on 02/25/2017 5:05:32 AM PST by BeadCounter
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 110 | View Replies]

To: jimbug

They are jihadis who are acting in accordance with islam. They need to be identified as such.


112 posted on 02/25/2017 5:06:05 AM PST by RoosterRedux
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 104 | View Replies]

To: BeadCounter
After ISIS, there will be another iteration of islamic jihad by another name.

It will never end until islam is reformed or outlawed.

113 posted on 02/25/2017 5:08:08 AM PST by RoosterRedux
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 111 | View Replies]

To: itsahoot

Let’s face it McMasters was an Obama favorite who rose in the ranks. Recall that Obama removed many good officers during his tenure. Trump may well regret not choosing Bolton.


114 posted on 02/25/2017 5:08:21 AM PST by kenmcg (uNFORTUNATELY)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: All

NYT fake news propaganda.


115 posted on 02/25/2017 5:16:53 AM PST by Oldeconomybuyer (The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: lodi90

I pushed for McMaster. He’s fine. Knows more about how to successfully fight Moslems-—and has personally killed more—than anyone here.

He will get the job done.


116 posted on 02/25/2017 5:21:18 AM PST by LS ("Castles Made of Sand, Fall in the Sea . . . Eventually" (Hendrix))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]

To: Pinkbell

“Un-Islamic Islamic Terrorism” has a real ring to it. McMaster should switch jobs with the Poet Laureate.


117 posted on 02/25/2017 5:36:35 AM PST by Chewbarkah
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: itsahoot

“known for his sense of history,” huh? Well he doesn’t know musloid history too well, does he?


118 posted on 02/25/2017 5:39:19 AM PST by cld51860 (Volo pro veritas)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: LS
I pushed for McMaster. He’s fine. Knows more about how to successfully fight Moslems-—and has personally killed more—than anyone here.

He will get the job done.

Probably so; whether folks like it or not, there are different strains of Islam, McMasters was probably referring to the Salafist beliefs that spur on ISIS. So, folks are throwing rocks at him out of ignorance and as said, he's killed more Muslims than anyone here. Words vs. Actions.

119 posted on 02/25/2017 5:43:37 AM PST by BeadCounter
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 116 | View Replies]

To: JayGalt
Watch with an open mind and do not be so quick to condemn dogmatically.

1. Of all the posters screaming for McMasters scalp on this thread alone, you chose to identify me alone as a person "quick to condemn dogmatically."

2. I did not call for the man's scalp, I merely pointed out that there is an incoherence between McMasters' alleged statements and the explicit new policy as expressed by candidate Trump, president elect Trump, and president Trump.

3. As long ago as the Bush administration, I pointed out that the logic of Bush waging war against "terrorism" rather than "Islamic terrorism" was obviously to attempt to form alliances with moderate Muslims as allies in the war against radical Muslims.

4. I have long held the view that if the war against Islamic terrorism is to be won it will ultimately have to be won by moderate Muslims but they are not energized on our behalf by blandishments but by cold calculations of power and will only join us if they respect us more than they fear the extremists in their "faith."

5. All of this is very fine, but it does not answer the question, hardly a dogmatic one with which I concluded my reply: what is going on?

Either there is an incoherence between the president and his military advisors, or the president was playing semantic games on the campaign trail to manipulate the public, or (to paraphrase Ronald Reagan) the administration's anti-Muslim hand does not know what the administration's extreme anti-Muslim hand is doing. There is nothing in the audio to suggest that Secretary of Defense Mattis is not playing a double semantic game for which candidate Trump has excoriated the Obama administration, in fact, he is rationalizing the game for the reasons I identified as long ago as the Bush administration.

But it is a game he is playing, nonetheless. I have only pointed out, evidently dogmatically, that there is an incoherence of policy within the administration. This video justifies the doublespeak but does not deny it.


120 posted on 02/25/2017 5:46:51 AM PST by nathanbedford (attack, repeat, attack! Bull Halsey)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 98 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 81-100101-120121-140141-156 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson