Trump removes JCS and DNI from National Security Council
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Crawford9139
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I for one, someone who has a sister currently deployed and plan to enter service very soon, am glad to have a president with a backbone and one who will stand up for America. Trump represents an America I would gladly fight and die for. America is done being a international punching bag. Now we hit back.
I think most people on this forum might feel that five months can feel like a VERY long time, as their candidates are waiting for admissions decisions
Well, I have a tangentially related thought. Interesting news day yesterday, as our courts did not decide to reinstate the immigration executive order. As far as I am concerned, a reassuring sign that we still have at least one moderately functioning branch when it comes to checks and balances. Also, relating to the original question about the National Security Council, please read this article from yesterday; https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl...c2cf509efe5_story.html?utm_term=.fe328cddc21a
Our cadets, and all officers, I believe, swear an oath to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Our Senators and Congresspeople swear a very similar oath. Where do we go from here regarding General Flynn?
Our cadets, and all officers, I believe, swear an oath to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Our Senators and Congresspeople swear a very similar oath. Where do we go from here regarding General Flynn?
Really ?? General Flynn violated the Logan Act?
A piece of legislation authored in 1799, where the only actual indictment occurred in 1803 when a Kentucky farmer wrote an article in a local newspaper.
You better prepare jail cells for Jesse Jackson, and former Presidents Carter and Clinton.
And many others.
A piece of legislation authored in 1799, where the only actual indictment occurred in 1803 when a Kentucky farmer wrote an article in a local newspaper.
You better prepare jail cells for Jesse Jackson, and former Presidents Carter and Clinton.
And many others.
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scoutpilot
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Cool story, kid. You're wrong like a toaster in the bathtub (fortunately for America).
Hmm. Interesting. Please explain. It appears that General Flynn certainly lied, and spoke with Russian operatives about sanctions while President Obama was still in office. I am curious as to how this is acceptable
Acceptability is in the eye of the beholder.
Much like various sodomy laws that currently reside on the books of many states - the reason the Logan Act has never been enforced, is that it is most certainly unconstitutional. Stop and think for a moment - a law that says a private citizen can not have a conversation (influence) with ANY foreign government officer concerning the veracity of current administration's sanctions, treaties, or trade policies.
I understand the Logan act is likely to be unenforceable, and actually, the Post also appears to agree with that analysis, so we are all in agreement there. I am left, however, with a problem with Flynn's dishonesty regarding his conversations with Kislyak. While it may not ne illegal, do you believe he behaved ethically? I am actually looking for a genuine opinion here- not trying to provoke. I understand there can be different opinions, but i think even cadets ate held to higher standards than the law requires, after all, Cafets do not lie, cheat, or steal, or tolerate those who do. Am I truly missing something that makes it ok for General Flynn to deceive Vice President Pence?
Let's set aside Trump's outlandish tweets and speeches. The worse of which, IMHO, was his statement about Sadaam Hussein. "He was a bad guy -- really bad guy. But you know what? He did well? He killed terrorists. He did that so good. They didn't read them the rights. They didn't talk. They were terrorists. Over. Today, Iraq is Harvard for terrorism." This statement is so outrageously stupid and insulting to the millions of Iraqis who suffered under his rule, many of them allied with the US today. I'll assume Trump's water carriers are too young and/or unread to remember the gassing of the Kurds, the ethnic cleansing of the Shiite Marsh Arabs, or the name "Abu Nidal". He was considered the most heinous of all the Palestinian terroists of the 1970's and 80's. You can Google his body of work. He died of natural causes in Baghdad under Sadaam's protection.
The second stupidest was,"He[Putin]'s not going into Ukraine, OK, just so you understand. He's not going to go into Ukraine, all right? You can mark it down. You can put it down. You can take it anywhere you want." That said two years after the takeover of Crimea.
That is Trump's knowledge base for dealing with two of three most important regions of the world from the standpoint US national security, the Middle East and NATO. In the ME, our single most dangerous nation-state foe is Iran and Iran's largest weapon supplier and its lifeline to the rest of the world is Russia. Other than allowing resupply to US troops in Afghanistan through the Central Asian Republics (which is to Russia's benefit), has Russia done anything, to help the US in whatever it is trying to achieve in the ME?
For those who are either too young and/or unread, there used to be something called the iron curtain, which extended from the Adriatic to the Baltic. It took 40 years of patience, persistence and unity in NATO for the captive countries to tear it down, which they did with gusto. It was unimaginable in 1979 that my future wife's son would be a US Army Officer and that Poland would be a member of NATO. Even more unimaginable was the Baltic countries separating from the USSR, a "geopolitical catastrophe", according Putin. The dirty little secret is that most of the people in those countries shared our values throughout the Cold War. Locked behind minefields, guard towers and electrified fences it was sometimes hard to recognize. Who is the single most aggressive saboteur to the architecture which has taken three generations, political parties and factions of all stripes to build and maintain? It must have been terribly frustrating to Putin and his band of Revanchists, that their only allies and apologists in the West have been the likes of Marine LePen, Nigel Farage, and Silvio Berlusconi. That is, until Donald Trump showed up.
The Trump table was already set, starting with Trump SOHO, financed by a group of Russians and Kazakhs. (I'll let Forbes, WSJ, and Businessweek characterize the financiers and the specifics of the arrangement.) What is indisputable is that no Russian or Kazakh fortune is safe without the acquiescence of the those governments. That includes answering the door when the FSB comes aknocking. One of the fixers, Boris Epshteyn, was also one of the original members and surrogates of the Trump campaign. Other notable members were Carter Page and Paul Manafort. These three, with their connections to the Russian government, were a Godsend, but Lt. General Michael Flynn!? Former Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency!? Already on the RT/FSB payroll. Now the shadow National Security Advisor and one election away from an office next to the President. How did the Russians divvy up credit for that one?
Of course, Flynn spoke to the the Russian Ambassador. Of course they discussed sanctions. That, oil prices and building a buffer of compliant states are all Russia cares about. You are right. The Logan Act is about as significant and effectual as Elizabeth Warren and Nancy Pelosi or the UN. But, much ado about nothing? A mixed bag of reviews?
We skeptics are quietly waiting to see one piece of evidence that the current administration is not committed to an accommodation of Russia at the expense of proven and aspirational friends and allies; neither of which is Russia.
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Back to the article, it says that US law enforcement & Intel agencies routinely monitor the communications of Russian diplomats. Do you think the Russians/Mr. Flynn know that? Is that common knowledge in the intel world? While I have no idea if Mr. Flynn was aware, I will assume the Russians do. The sanctions remain in place & I have not seen anything relating to their modification/removal. So again, nothing to see here.
I see that General Flynn lied to Vice President Pence. I consider that something to see.
To answer your question, if I were VP Pence - I would make clear to Gen. Flynn that "this was his one mulligan."
Then I would have someone from my office give him a quick refresher course in "how to speak like a politician" to the press.
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Unless the anonymous sources produce their evidence, it would seem to be an internal matter.
You know what bothers me most about this whole kerfuffle? No one seems to care that (reportedly) nine Intelligence Community members broke their oaths to leak this intel to members of the press - ostensibly for purely partisan political purposes.
Now I know that "everyone" knows that we are monitoring Russian diplomatic communications - but I know if I were a member of the current executive administration, I would certainly be highly motivated to put someone behind bars for this leak, if for no other reason the to fire a shot across the bow of the IC.