An excerpt from a book written by Greg Miller, national security reporter for the Washington Post, illustrates how the cruelty that Trump is showing to immigrant children, as well as the disadvantaged of all types, has been part of his makeup since day 1. The book is titled The Apprentice: Trump, Russia and the Subversion of American Democracy and the excerpt was described in this diary.
The portion of the excerpt that leapt out at me was that during Trump’s visit to the CIA the day after the inauguration, he was taken to a “futuristic command post,” a “dazzling theater of high-tech warfare.” Here’s how he responded to what he saw:
The sight of missiles streaming toward a target is particularly adrenaline-inducing to the newly initiated, and the agency often brings those it most wants to impress to the Predator display, with highlights of successful strikes cued up. Trump appeared suitably enthused, though puzzled by what he regarded as undue restraint.
When told that the CIA flew surveillance flights over Syria but that only the military conducted strikes — an Obama policy meant to return the agency’s focus to its core espionage mission — Trump made clear he wanted those restrictions wiped away and for the agency to start firing. “If you can do it in 10 days, get it done,” he said, an edict that was ultimately implemented, though it took longer than he wished.
When the agency’s head of drone operations explained how the CIA had developed special munitions to limit civilian casualties, the president seemed nonplused. Shown a strike in which the CIA delayed firing until the target was a safe distance from a compound with other occupants, Trump asked, “Why did you wait?” And when Trump noticed that militants had scattered seconds before another drone attack, he said, “Can they hear the bombs coming? We should make the bombs silent so they can’t get away.”
Trump wants civilian casualties. It’s not that he doesn’t care if civilians get hurt. He wants them to get hurt, or better yet, killed.
Erik Prince may get his way if Trump wants to go all-out and Prince can persuade Trump that the war would conclude sooner using mercenaries who aren’t bound by the same rules that govern the conduct of our military. War criminals…