Trump's national security candidates promised autonomy as search continues

[webfact]

Trump's national security candidates promised autonomy as search continues

By Andy Sullivan and Sarah N. Lynch

REUTERS

 

U.S. military officer Lieutenant. General Robert L. Caslen speaks during a ceremony at Camp Prosperity in Baghdad October 1, 2011. REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen/File Photo

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's next pick for national security adviser will have autonomy over staffing and key decisions, the White House said on Sunday as it scrambles to fill the post following the turbulent departure of Michael Flynn.

 

Trump fired Flynn, a retired U.S. Army general, on Monday after it was revealed that he discussed U.S. sanctions against Russia with the Russian ambassador in Washington ahead of Trump's inauguration and later misled Vice President Mike Pence about the conversations.

 

His first choice to fill the job, Vice Admiral Robert Harward, turned it down citing family and financial reasons. Another potential choice, David Petraeus, a retired general and former CIA chief who resigned in 2012 over an extramarital affair, is also no longer on the president's short list.

 

Sources familiar with the candidates' thinking said they both wanted control over staffing of their team, and Trump was reluctant to grant that authority.

 

White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus denied the reports that Harward and Petraeus wanted more control than Trump was prepared to give, and said in an interview on 'Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace' that the new adviser "can do whatever he or she wants to do with the staffing".

 

He said the issue never came up in discussions with Harward and they "hadn't really gone down the road" with Petraeus.

 

The national security adviser is an independent aide to the president and does not require confirmation by the U.S. Senate. The role has varied from administration to administration but the adviser attends National Security Council meetings along with the heads of the State Department, the Department of Defense and key security agencies.

 

Trump has added Steve Bannon, his chief White House strategist, as a regular attendee of NSC meetings. Political strategists have not typically been among NSC participants and Bannon's addition has drawn sharp criticism due his previous role heading right-wing website Breitbart News.

 

Trump is set to interview four national security adviser candidates on Sunday from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

 

Acting adviser Keith Kellogg, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton, Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster and Lieutenant General Robert Caslen are currently on the president's list.

 

McMaster holds a senior post with the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command. Caslen is superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

 

"I'll make a decision over the next couple of days," Trump told reporters Saturday on Air Force One.

 

(Reporting by Andy Sullivan and Sarah N. Lynch; Writing by Amanda Becker; Editing by Kieran Murray and Mary Milliken)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-02-20

[Srikcir]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

President Donald Trump's next pick for national security adviser will have autonomy over staffing and key decisions

Whomever Trump's next pick is, get Trump in writing and in a public statement. Give Trump no deniability.

PS: And don't unpack your bags and settle in for at least the next six months.

[Opl]

What's for Lunch Today? Apparently, Sh*t Sandwiches.

A friend of Harward’s familiar with his thinking told Jake Tapper of CNN that Harward called the offer a “shit sandwich,” before rejecting Trump’s offer Thursday.

" So the president loses Harward because he insists on the counsel of the guy who made propaganda movies about Sarah Palin? Gotcha. The president*'s managed to alienate the intelligence community and he's on his way to alienating the military all the way up to flag rank."

 

http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a53245/national-security-adviser-shit-sandwich/

 

[Redline]

Now that a precedent has been set for saying no, it's probably going to require an a** kisser

[mike324]

" Trump is set to interview four national security adviser candidates on Sunday from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. "

 

Why does Trump have to do everything from his resort? Its costing tax-payers hundreds of thousands each day that he is there. Its very unnecessary and unprofessional.

 

Steve Bannon having a voice in everything is going to wreck this country apart too. Wonder whats the next issue that will blow up next month.

[Opl]

Trump said he knew more about military strategy and the fight against terrorism than the military. He quickly gave the green light to a disastrous week end raid in Yemen, although the generals told him it was a very bad idea. The result was the death of a service member, and many civilians. The target of the raid has escaped and no useful information has been gathered.

Did Trump  bother to supervise this raid ? or did he instead sent his hateful tweets, and fell asleep?

Edited February 20, 2017 by Opl