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IMC — U.S. President Donald Trump named a new national security
adviser Monday, picking Army Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster, a military
strategist who has spent his entire career in the U.S. armed forces.
Trump called the 54-year-old
McMaster "a man of tremendous talent and tremendous experience."
The president, making the
announcement from his Florida retreat Mar-a-Lago along the Atlantic Ocean, said
that retired Army Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg, who had been his acting
adviser, will now serve as chief of staff of the National Security Council.
McMaster is currently director of the Army's Capabilities Integration
Center, an Army agency tasked with integrating "war-fighting capabilities
into the force" and with other government agencies. Trump selected him
over at least three other contenders, including Kellogg. |
Retired Army Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg listens as Trump
announces that Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster will be the new national security
adviser. Kellogg, who had been his acting adviser, will now serve as chief of
staff of the National Security Council.
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A much-decorated soldier
McMaster will replace Michael Flynn, the retired Army general
Trump fired a week ago after just 24 days on the job at the start of Trump's
assumption of power in Washington. The new president said last week it was
unacceptable to him that Flynn lied to Vice President Mike Pence about contacts
he had with the Russian ambassador to Washington in the weeks before Trump was
inaugurated a month ago.
McMaster is a much-decorated soldier, winning a Silver Star
early in his Army career leading U.S. troops in their destruction of 80 Iraqi
Republican Guard tanks without U.S. losses in a battle against Saddam Hussein's
forces during their 1991 invasion of Kuwait. McMaster has held numerous key
Army postings over the last 25 years.
Three years ago, Time magazine
put him on its list of the 100 most influential people in the world, calling
him "the architect of the future U.S. Army."
The immediate reaction from members of Congress was positive.
Sen. John McCain, who has occasionally voiced concerns about
Trump's administration, especially over foreign policy and security issues,
said McMaster is "an outstanding choice for national security
adviser," and called him "a man of genuine intellect, character and
ability."
Fellow Republicans Sen. Tom Cotton and Rep. Adam Kinzinger
also heaped praise on McMaster, with Cotton tweeting the general is "one
of the finest combat leaders of our generation."
Rep. Adam Schiff, a
frequent Trump critic, tweeted that McMaster is a "solid choice, bright
& strategic. Wrote the book on importance of standing up to POTUS
[president of the U.S.]. May need to show same independence here." |
| Mike Flynn arrives for a news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Feb. 13, 2017 |
Pence 'disappointed' by Flynn
Pence said Monday he was "disappointed" to learn
that Flynn had misled him about his contacts with the Russian ambassador,
stressing that he supported Trump's decision to fire him.
Pence, during a news conference at NATO headquarters in
Brussels, said, "It was the proper decision, it was handled properly and
in a timely way."
Trump's chief of staff said Sunday that the person selected
to be the next national security adviser — McMaster, as it turns out — will
have full authority over staffing decisions for the National Security Council.
That issue over control was reportedly one reason former Navy
admiral Robert Harward turned down the job last week.
"The president
has said very clearly that the new director will have total and complete say
over the makeup of the NSC and all of the components of the NSC," White
House chief of staff Reince Priebus said on Fox News Sunday. Harward was Trump's first
choice to replace Flynn. |
| FILE - Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, speaks during the third day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, July 27, 2016. |
Panetta voices his concerns
Former U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told NBC's Meet
the Press on Sunday the
turmoil surrounding the key position has made U.S. national security operations
"dysfunctional."
"What happens if there's a major crisis that faces this
country?" Panetta said. "If Russia engages in a provocation, if Iran
does something stupid, if North Korea does something stupid and we have to
respond, where is the structure to be able to evaluate that threat, consider
it, and provide options to the president?
"Right now,
that's dysfunctional, and that's what worries me a great deal," said
Panetta, who also once served as director of the U.S. Central Intelligence
Agency.source : voanews