Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Trump Advisers Press For Major NSC Changes « Breaking Defense - Defense industry news, analysis and commentary

Trump Advisers Press For Major NSC Changes « Breaking Defense - Defense industry news, analysis and commentary: The administration of Donald Trump will probably slash the size of the National Security Council and return it to its traditional role of coordinating national security policy across the national security and intelligence communities. For most of the Obama Administration, conflicting cabinets ruled and battled to often bad effect, one staffed by the actual Cabinet officers and their subordinates, and one by the shadow cabinet of the NSC staff. It made policy, instead of coordinating policy as it is charged to do by the law that created it in 1947.

There was the sudden and unexpected decision to walk away from an alliance with France aimed at overturning the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad. There were the prolonged and conflicting signals coming from top Pentagon civilians, the Navy, top Pacific commanders and the White House about whether, when and how to execute Freedom of Navigation operations in the South China Sea while China illegally and immorally destroyed some of the world’s most pristine coral reefs to lay claim to fake islands in the region. And numerous other less prominent policy decisions.