IMC - U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday named
Lieutenant General Herbert Raymond McMaster as his new national security
adviser, choosing a military officer known for speaking his mind and
challenging his superiors.
McMaster is a highly regarded military tactician
and strategic thinker, but his selection surprised some observers who wondered
how the officer, whose Army career stalled at times for his questioning of
authority, would deal with a White House that has not welcomed criticism.
"He is highly respected by everybody in the military and
we're very honored to have him," Trump told reporters in West Palm Beach
where he spent the weekend. "He's a man of tremendous talent and
tremendous experience."
One subject on which Trump and McMaster could soon differ is
Russia. McMaster shares the consensus view among the U.S. national security
establishment that Russia is a threat and an antagonist to the United States,
while the man whom McMaster is replacing, retired Lieutenant General Michael
Flynn, appeared to view it more as a potential geopolitical partner.
Trump in the past has expressed a willingness to engage with
Russia more than his predecessor, Barack Obama.
Flynn was fired as national security adviser on Feb. 13 after
reports emerged that he had misled Vice President Mike Pence about speaking to
Russia's ambassador to the United States about U.S. sanctions before Trump's
inauguration.
The ouster, coming so early in Trump's administration, was
another upset for a White House that has been hit by miscues, including the
controversial rollout of a travel ban on people from seven Muslim-majority
countries, since the Republican president took office on Jan. 20.
The national security adviser is an independent aide to the
president and does not require confirmation by the U.S. Senate. He has broad
influence over foreign policy and attends National Security Council meetings
along with the heads of the State Department, the Department of Defense and key
security agencies.
NOT AFRAID TO
QUESTION THE BOSS
Republican Senator John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed
Services Committee and a frequent Trump critic, praised McMaster as an
"outstanding" choice.
"I give President Trump great credit for this
decision," McCain said in a statement.
A former U.S. ambassador to Russia under Obama, Michael
McFaul, a Democrat, praised McMaster on Twitter as "terrific" and
said McMaster "will not be afraid to question his boss."
McMaster, who flew back to the Washington area from Florida
with Trump on Air Force One, will remain on active military duty, the White
House said.
Trump also said Keith Kellogg, a retired U.S. Army general
who has been serving as the acting national security adviser, as chief of staff
to the National Security Council. John Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the
United Nations, would be asked to serve the administration in another capacity,
Trump said.
"He has a good number of ideas that I must tell you I agree
very much with," Trump said of Bolton, who served in Republican President
George W. Bush's administration.
Kellogg and Bolton were among those in contention as Trump
spent the long Presidents Day weekend considering his options for replacing
Flynn. His first choice, retired Vice Admiral Robert Harward, turned down the
job last week.
McMaster, 54, is a West Point graduate known as
"H.R.," with a Ph.D. in U.S. history from the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was listed as one of Time magazine's 100 most
influential people in 2014, partly because of his willingness to buck the
system.
A combat veteran, he gained renown in the first Gulf War -
and was awarded a Silver Star - after he commanded a small troop of the U.S.
2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment that destroyed a much larger Iraqi Republican
Guard force in 1991 in a place called 73 Easting, for its map coordinates, in
what many consider the biggest tank battle since World War Two.
As one fellow officer put it, referring to Trump's inner circle
of aides and speaking on condition of anonymity, the Trump White House
"has its own Republican Guard, which may be harder for him to deal with
than the Iraqis were." The Iraqi Republican Guard was the elite military
force of ousted dictator Saddam Hussein.
Trump relies on a tight, insular group of advisers, who at
times appear to have competing political agendas. Senior adviser Steve Bannon
has asserted his influence by taking a seat on the National Security Council.
McMaster's fame grew after his 1997 book "Dereliction of
Duty" criticized the country's military and political leadership for poor
leadership during the Vietnam War.
Trump's pick was praised by one of the president's strongest
backers in the U.S. Congress, Republican Senator Tom Cotton, who called
McMaster "one of the finest combat leaders of our generation and also a
great strategic mind."
CRITICISM
AND FEEDBACK
In a July 14, 2014, interview with the Columbus
Ledger-Enquirer in Columbus, Georgia, where Fort Benning is located, McMaster,
then the base commander, said: "Some people have a misunderstanding about
the Army.
Sumber : reuters