Trump doesn't like the smartest military mind he hired.
via Foxtrot Alpha:
Much more detail at this link
http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/trump-doesnt-like-the-smartest-military-mind-he-hired-1795024038
President Donald Trump has surrounded himself with federal government neophytes who have displayed their obvious lack of knowledge of how to run a country. But Trump’s most astute hire, National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster, is reportedly feeling the Presidential disdain for seemingly no other reason than he knows what he is talking about.
McMaster is hailed as a respected military mind, who made a name for himself as a young officer for criticizing the Joint Chiefs of Staff for their performance during the Vietnam War, and President George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq, according to the New York Times. He commanded troops during the first Gulf War and received a Silver Star for commanding a tank during the Battle of 73 Easting, which is considered one of the most important tank battles since World War II. McMaster also has a PhD in history from North Carolina.
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Now, Trump seems to not have the same glowing respect for the man he hired.
Bloomberg columnist Eli Lake is reporting that Trump is unhappy with McMaster and that he has publicly feuded with the Army general over South Korea, whether to fire now-disgraced former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and his selection of a deputy to hire at the NSA. Let’s go to the meatier part of Lake’s reporting concerning South Korea. Back in March, the U.S. deployed the THAAD missile defense system to South Korea to counter a nuclear missile strike threat by North Korea. Despite the limitations of the missile defense system, the deployment was seen as a move to assure Seoul that Washington is supporting defense of its nation.
What we didn’t know is that Trump expected South Korea to pay for it. McMaster told the Wall Street Journal that Trump’s insistence that Seoul pay for THAAD was not official American policy, which is weird, as the President is the one who said it. McMaster’s comments reportedly pissed the President off, and led to an angry phone call in which Trump yelled at McMaster for undermining him.
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There is much to take from Lake’s column, but one thing is perfectly clear: Trump hates dissent—particularly from people who suggest that he may be wrong about certain issues. One of the most respected military minds in Washington may very well be on Trump’s pink slip list for nothing more than offering an informed opinion and not being an ideological extremist who makes decisions based on more than a knee-jerk analysis of a given issue.
Of all of the people Trump should be most troubled with, he finds fault with McMaster, who has no known suspicious connections with Kremlin. It isn’t clear whether Trump’s dissatisfaction with McMaster will result in his firing. But what we should be concerned with is why Trump is so intolerant of the man who many credit with being the most respected military mind in the Oval Office.
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