This should be a quick hit. Like all US citizens with 12 functioning brain cells, it was extremely gratifying to see the unceremonious ouster of “Breitbart” Bannon from the NSC. Speculation seems to be that this is either the start or a continuation of a power struggle in the west wing. I see it a little differently.
General H.R. McMaster was a much needed figure for Trump after the debacle of Mike Flynn. He was widely, almost universally respected, and had a solid reputation for speaking truth to power, even at the expense of it costing him a promotion. But McMaster was well familiar with Trump and his administrative dysfunction. He came with conditions. One of them was sole and total control of his NSC staff, a condition that Trump had balked at in negotiations with a couple of earlier candidates. This time he had no choice but to accept, he needed respectability in that position.
It seemed to work at first. The National Security members who had been ditched and put on “on call” status for meetings were restored. But then the trouble started. Bannon stayed. KT McFarland, a Trump crony stayed. Then the straw on the camels back. It was revealed that a young, NSC staffer, Ezra Cohen-Watnick of helping to leak the documents to Devin Nunes that turned into yet another debacle. McMaster wanted to send him back to where he came from. Bannon went to Trump, and Trump sided with Bannon. Cohen-Watkins stays, he served his purpose.
So, if Trump and Bannon are in such firm control, why all of the sudden, frenetic activity in the NSC? A couple of days ago, it was announced that KT McFarland was leaving the NSC to take the post of US Ambassador to Singapore. Singapore? Considering her current position in the administration, this “promotion” is only superior to a consular posting in Tierra del Fuego. Now Bannon is gone. The official reason is that Bannon was installed as a check on Mike Flynn. Bullshit, Flynn has been long gone, why did Bannon stick around until now?
My take? General McMaster dropped the hammer. He told Trump, “either Bannon goes, or I go, and good luck finding a replacement”. If Cohen-Watkins goes, to my mind that will be the cherry on the sundae.
And just think, it’s quite possible that Trump and Bannon could have avoided all this Sturm und Drang if they had just let McMaster cashier that young idiot when he asked. Freakin’ idiots!
Wednesday, Apr 5, 2017 · 9:09:34 PM +00:00 · Murfster35
And something that occurred to me a little earlier, but I didn’t include it in the original diary...While I don’t think it was the overriding reason for the ouster, I think it is quite possible that after the events of yesterday, the North Korea missile launch, but especially the atrocity in Syria, Trump might well have realized that this is no time for ideological political bullshit on the NSC, especially since Trump himself is to abysmally ignorant of the actual mechanics and dangers of national security...