My main focus is on foreign policy so I look hard at choices for State and the War Department……so far neocons and war hawks are getting the nod…..then the War Department pick has everyone scratching their heads…..
This foreign policy direction is not looking pretty…..actually it is appearing to be grim.
News Monday that President-elect Trump was eyeing three hawks for top slots in his administration has put a bit of a damper on the headiness that restrainers on the right were feeling over weekend news that Nikki Haley or Mike Pompeo would not be joining the administration.
By 8 p.m. Monday, there was confirmation that Elise Stefanik, arch-defender of Israel who once worked for the neocon outfit Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, and Bill Kristol’s Foreign Policy Initiative, is Trump’s pick for UN ambassador.
China hawk Rep. Mike Waltz, who spent much of his time on Capitol Hill this year saber rattling about Chinese military and spies in our backyard, and calling for a “new Monroe Doctrine” and a lot more military build-up to confront them, is Trump’s pick for National Security Advisor. He worked in the George W. Bush Pentagon and for Vice President Dick Cheney as a counterterrorism advisor.
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/rubio-trump/
Rubio is an amateur…..that means that he will be just an extension of the BS we have been putting up with for decades.
Now what about the War Department?
President-elect Trump named more members of his administration Tuesday, including Fox host Pete Hegseth, his nominee for secretary of defense. “Pete has spent his entire life as a Warrior for the Troops, and for the Country,” Trump said in a statement, per CNN. Hegseth, 44, is an Army veteran who has served in Afghanistan and Iraq, though the Guardian notes that his lack of senior military or national defense experience is “sure to draw questions about his qualifications to lead the department.” Trump advisers tell CNN that Hegseth, a co-host of Fox & Friends Weekend, has been an informal adviser to Trump for years.
Who?
That seems to be the reaction around the country.
- The biggest reaction so far seems to be regarding Trump’s pick for defense secretary: Fox News host Pete Hegseth. Though he is an Army veteran, he has no senior military or national defense experience, and Politico reports there was skepticism in the defense world. One defense industry lobbyist put it like so: “Who the f— is this guy?” More at Politico. The AP also uses the word “stunned” to describe the reaction; its story, which also includes the words “bewilderment and wide-eyed worry,” is here.
- In a more general look at Trump’s picks, Politico argues that the biggest takeaway of all is: “Dissenters need not apply.” Trump is obviously going with loyalists and shutting out those who’ve criticized him, and for some of his more controversial choices, he’s slotting them into positions (like Tom Homan as “border czar”) that don’t require Senate confirmation. Full story here. CNN seems to agree, in a story calling Trump’s selections so far his “most MAGA picks” and referring to them as “ultra-loyalists.”
- Speaking of people who’ve criticized Trump in the past, former Vice President Mike Pence had nothing but nice things to say about Trump’s choices so far while at a Washington, DC, event Tuesday, Newsweek reports. He called them “conservative men and women who I believe will serve the country well, serve the president-elect well,” and added, “Conservatives need to understand that we’re part of a broader coalition. Now, we need to do our jobs. I am very encouraged by the early appointments by the president-elect.”
- Some conservatives, however, were expressing concerns, Newsweek reports; more on that here.
- The Washington Post points out one potential concern for Republicans: As Trump picks congressional Republicans to fill some roles, the GOP majority in one or possibly both chambers will be lessened until any vacant seats are filled.
Another amateur to lead the largest budget eating department in the country.
Just a quick look around to other useless meat socks Trump has nominated…..
Mike Huckabee. Trump said he will nominate the former Arkansas governor to serve as ambassador to Israel, the Hill reports. “He loves Israel, and the people of Israel, and likewise, the people of Israel love him,” Trump said. “Mike will work tirelessly to bring about Peace in the Middle East!” Huckabee has long expressed support for Israeli settlers in the West Bank and rejected the idea of a Palestinian state, the AP notes. “I feel that we have a responsibility to respect that this is land that has historically belonged to the Jews,” he said in 2015.
- John Ratcliffe. John Ratcliffe, who served as director of national intelligence in Trump’s first administration, is Trump’s nominee for CIA director. The New York Times notes that confirmation will likely make the former congressman from Texas “the most influential voice on intelligence matters in the next administration.”
- Kristi Noem. Trump confirmed Tuesday that the South Dakota governor is his pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security. “She will work closely with ‘Border Czar’ Tom Homan to secure the Border, and will guarantee that our American Homeland is secure from our adversaries,” Trump said. CNN notes that while Noem “does not represent a border state, she has a long history of taking hardline positions on immigration.”
- Bill McGinley. Republican campaign lawyer Bill McGinley will be the White House counsel in Trump’s administration, a position that does not require Senate confirmation and will put him among Trump’s closest advisers, Politico reports. McGinley was White House cabinet secretary in the first Trump administration.
- Steven Witkoff. Trump named real estate investor Steven Witkoff as his special envoy to the Middle East, saying he “will be an unrelenting Voice for PEACE, and make us all proud.” Witkoff “has been Trump’s regular golf partner and was seen as a conduit to the Jewish business community during his winning presidential campaign,” the Times of Israel reports.
Not one of these picks instill any confidence that any crisis in foreign policy will these slugs be able to handle.
But that is just me.
I Read, I Write, You Know
“lego ergo scribo”
This seems to me to be such a random selection of boot-lickers, I feel sure that Trump is just repaying old favours with prestigious jobs. He will come to regret most of those choices, I have no doubt.
Best wishes, Pete.
They are ‘yes men’ and will rubber stamp anything he wants to do internationally. chuq
Once Trump is finished, the Pentagon will be an almost empty building filled with war hawks with ambitions but with nothing to do because Trump is so anti-war that even Putin will be able to move into Manhattan with his troops without a shot being fired in defense of what was once a great nation.
Trump is not anti-war he is anti-Ukraine….so these slugs will do his bidding….as for Putin that is fanciful. chuq
Trump has had an ongoing telephone relationship with Vladimir that he desperately works to keep secret and he definintely admires vladimir very much so who knows what promises are being made behind closed doors….and also… the russian Intelligence Minister just went public with a statement that says essentially, “We got your elected so now you have obligations you need to fulfill” and that has set some parts of the internet ablaze. So yes, I see a state dinner in the works for vladimir along with a full military parade in his honor and God only knows what else. Keep this on file so that you can remember that I said it.
My IQ is sufficient that I can remember unlike others. trump has made a life screwing people Putin will be no different….chuq
I am also not against believing that if extra troops were needed to handle domestic riots, etc., it would not be beyond the pale to expect Russia to be invited to send troops to augment our own.
Not happening ever! chuq
In your dreams….
What does this have to do with his choices. chuq
Yes, that’s correct. The withdrawal from Afghanistan was initially set in motion by the Trump administration through an agreement known as the Doha Agreement, signed in February 2020 with the Taliban. This agreement laid out a timeline for the withdrawal of U.S. troops, with the condition that the Taliban would prevent terrorist groups from operating in Afghanistan and would engage in peace talks with the Afghan government. The goal was for all U.S. forces to leave by May 2021.
When President Biden took office in January 2021, he reviewed the agreement and ultimately decided to proceed with the withdrawal, though he extended the deadline to August 31, 2021, to allow more time for planning and execution. Biden faced complex challenges with the actual withdrawal, as the security situation deteriorated rapidly, leading to the fall of Kabul to the Taliban in August 2021.
The last American leaves is when the war is over. chuq
We got through Trump’s first term without going to war. Based on that, I expect that we will get through the next term without a war.
But that is no guarantee.
WE were not at war but we had our fingers in several and that will continue. chuq
There were some wars going on but nothing in comparison to what is going on today.
We have been involved in one way or another in wars since WW2…..not will not change. chuq
Plus he promised to end Afghanistan in his first term and that did not happen chuq
Trump initiated the Afghan withdrawal, Biden took it over as Trump left office. Right?
Trump negotiated and signed the agreement with the Taliban that set the conditions and timetable for our withdrawal. All the mistakes and failures to execute the withdrawal in an orderly fashion were made by Biden and his administration.
THIS IS CORRECT —-“Trump negotiated and signed the agreement with the Taliban that set the conditions and timetable for our withdrawal. All the mistakes and failures to execute the withdrawal in an orderly fashion were made by Biden and his administration.” ABSOLUTELY CORRECT, ERNEST.
As Yogi said ‘it ain’t over until it’s over’….chuq
The agreement to end it was signed during his term. And the fighting stopped before his term ended. Complete withdrawal of the troops was not completed until after he left office.
As I have said…war is over when the last American leaves for home. Trump set it in motion. chuq
Shit fire, Ernest— we might even start sending military aid to Putin before it is all said and done…..
as I see it, Trump and Putin are awfully chummy —so yes, I think something strange like that will happen…..
Hold on that dram chuq
remember you heard it here first.
I will make it a priority chuq