Donald Trump has tapped an immigration hardliner and a former intelligence officer to be top members of his administration. President-elect Trump’s transition team announced today that Senator Jeff Sessions will be his attorney general, and that Michael Flynn, the anti-Muslim former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, will be his national security adviser.
The moves signal that Trump is rewarding those who remained loyal to him during his tumultuous presidential campaign–and that he has no intention of backing down from his hardline positions on Muslims and immigrants.
Sessions is perhaps the most anti-immigrant senator in Congress. And he will have to face a Senate confirmation process that will dig up past allegations that once felled his bid to be a federal judge–accusations that he called a Black prosecutor “boy,” that he said a white lawyer who represented Blacks was maybe a disgrace to his race and that he called the ACLU and NAACP “un-American.”
Sessions has also associated with virulent Islamophobes. He has accepted accolades from the David Horowitz Freedom Center and from the Center for Security Policy, both of which are Islamophobic think tanks. Sessions has expressed support for Trump’s proposals to limit Muslim immigration to the U.S, and has come out against accepting Syrian refugees.
Still, Sessions has a good shot of being confirmed, especially since the Republicans have a Senate majority.
Flynn would have had a tougher job of being confirmed, in part because he has been paid by the Russian government and a close ally of Turkey’s president. But Flynn is serving as national security adviser–a position that is not a cabinet pick, though it is one of the more powerful positions in the national security bureaucracy. As national security adviser, Flynn will run the National Security Council, a powerful internal division in the White House that coordinates national security policy.
Flynn will take his strident beliefs on Islam and war into the Oval Office. Flynn has said that “Islamic ideology” is “sick,” that Islam is like “cancer,” and that “fear of Muslims is rational.” He also said, “I’ve been at war with Islam, or a component of Islam, for the last decade.”
Flynn is an adviser to ACT For America, an anti-Muslim group that has pushed anti-Sharia laws and built ties with anti-Muslim politicians. And he is a harsh critic of the Iran nuclear deal, and has also called for “regime change” in the country. In Congressional testimony, Flynn said “Israel lives under the threat of total annihilation from Iran and other Islamic radical elements in the region—something the United States must never allow.”
Flynn is not just an anti-Muslim ideologue, though. He was the director of intelligence for Joint Special Operations Command, the shadowy elite military unit credited with decimating al-Qaeda in Iraq and went on to kill Bin Laden. He’s also the former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency.
Flynn will now get to fuse his anti-Muslim beliefs with his deep experience in intelligence and the military to meld Trump’s thinking on U.S. foreign policy and national security.
That has human rights groups worried about what the Trump administration will do on issues like detention, torture and drones–a lethal and shadowy architecture that the Obama administration will now hand over to Trump.
Human Rights Watch today criticized Flynn for not condemning Trump’s repeated calls to torture terrorist suspects and kill the family members of terrorists. When asked about these statements, Flynn has said he believes in leaving open all options.
But the human rights group said in doing so, “Michael Flynn has shown a stunning contempt for the Geneva Conventions and other laws prohibiting torture. By offering this key post to Flynn, President-elect Trump is undermining US commitments to international laws that have been broken to America’s detriment.”
With well-known blogger Jennifer Rubin Trump also raises red flags with his Flynn pick. She writes:
As far as I remember Jennifer Rubin was always a great friend of Muslims, wasn’t she?
So, what’s going on? Maybe with his statement that the creation of an ISIS caliphate in Syria and Iraq happened due to a “willful decision” in Washington he hasn’t made himself not only friends? I think that he wants to talk with Russia couldn’t be it, because virtually nobody I know would prefer throwing nuclear missiles at each other instead.
For people not familiar with Flynn I think an interview with Flynn by Sophie Shevardnadze from about a year ago can give some answers on what kind of worldview Flynn holds:
https://youtu.be/4RIUE68cpGc
Trumps pick of Flynn not only raised red föags with Jennifer Rubin, but with the Washington Post “Editorial Board” aka Fred Hiatt, too. The Post’s View it’s called, the title is “Trump has made some dangerous appointments,” under the title is a picture of Flynn and then the Washington Post states:
So, if I may summarize that stance of the Washiongton Post. Mike Flynn is so anti-islamic, that he “could deeply alienate U.S. Muslim allies, including Sunni states whose assistance is critically needed to forge political alternatives to the terrorists in Iraq and Syria” – and his biggest sins are being on RT and lobbying for Erdogan – who happens to be the president of the most important U.S. Muslim ally, and of course Turkey is a Sunni majority state.
The Washington Post can’t decide: is Flynn ugly because he’s anti-muslim or is he ugly because he’s too cozy with muslim president Erdogan. It seems to me proof that the neocon Washington Post is hiding why they are really against Flynn.
But I think I know a part of why the Washington Post is so much against Flynn. It’s this story, and all what’s linked with it: Former DIA Chief Michael Flynn Says Rise of Islamic State was “a willful decision” and Defends Accuracy of 2012 Memo. Flynn didn’t shut up on this, even when pressed.
Whether it is criminal to aid Al Qaeda terrorists – who also happen to be the enemy in the war on terror – may be a decision for courts. But I remember well the chants of “Lock her up” and it looks to me some people are scared it could happen – and not only to her.
He really sounds rather horrible.
But then, as you say:
Starting under Bush, then the highest and probably most criminal posts among them under Obama and his merry Democratic administration:
Wikipedia says:
“…director of intelligence, Joint Staff from July 2008 to June 2009, then the director of intelligence, International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan from June 2009 to October 2010.
In September 2011, Flynn was promoted to Lieutenant General and assigned to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
…
On April 17, 2012, President Barack Obama nominated Flynn to be the 18th director of the Defense Intelligence Agency.[22][23] Flynn took command of the DIA in July 2012.”
I think these dates are relevant to the discussion: he had been committing his crimes and being promoted under the Dems; now he (additionally) brings some more of his so-called thinking into the open. His crimes are the Demolicanorepublican administration’s crimes. And thanks to the two-party system, there is no end in sight for Palestine, or the rest of the world. Let’s see if by Jan. 20, his new boss remembers the isolationist noises he made.
‘The End of Political Judaism and the Israel Lobby/Jewish Lobby Alt Right Movement’ –
The Israel Lobby’s famous ‘Islamophobia Cottage Industry’ IS the ‘Alt Right’ birthplace – and Steve Bannon is a poster child for a ‘Alt Right Pro-Israel’ fascist
Why do Steve Bannon and Frank Gaffney and other Israeli Firsters/Kahanists/Neocons get along so famously? Because they are both ‘Alt Right’…everybody clear? ‘Alt Right Pro-Israel’ targets MUSLIMS not Jews. Everybody got it?
‘Alt Right Pro-Israel’ IS the Islamophobia cottage industry of the Israeli Lobby/Jewish Lobby/Neocons in the US – they promote racism TOWARDS Muslims, not Jews
Dermer is having to explain Bannon to the rest of the Diaspora and America because they don’t get it – Bannon ain’t anti-semitic, he’s ‘Alt Right Pro-Israel’ – in fact he LOVES Israel – just like Breivik Anders Breivik or Mike Huckabee or Gaffney or John Bolton or Pam Geller or Chuck Krauthammer or Naftali Bennett or Yvet Lieberman etc, etc
Time to break America’s trance …SNAP! SNAP!
Israel itself is ‘Alt Right’ – as well as all the Neocons
David Horowitz, Pam Geller, Frank Gaffney, Cliff May, Anders Breivik, Charles Krauthammer, Geert Wilders, and Neocons writ large are all part of it and they have one thing in common – they target Muslims NOT Jews and love Israel
The Islamophobia industry is worldwide now and heavily promoted by the Israeli Lobby and Israel.
(David Horowitz donated $20K to Geert Wilder’s party in 2014, Anders Breivik blogged at Pam Gellers site/Gates of Vienna and admired Avigdor Lieberman and Israel)
The ‘Alt Right’ movement is a part of the Islamophobia Cottage industry of the Israel Lobby of the US and they identify with extreme Right Wing Israel (Bibi, Bennett, Lieberman and the rest of the true blue Kahanists)
This new fascism is CREATED by the Jewish Lobby/Israel Lobby/Neocons (and Israel) and targets Muslims NOT Jews.
Yes Virigina, it’s Israeli Lobby-CREATED fascism towards Muslims, NOT Jews. The Israeli Lobby is famous for it – Gaffney is a poster child for it.
International ‘Alt Right’ fascists like Wilders and Breivik hate Muslims NOT Jews
Israel is ‘Alt Right’ – they hate Muslims NOT Jews
Neocons like Frank Gaffney are ‘Alt Right’ – they hate Muslims not Jews
Why do Steve Bannon and Frank Gaffney get along? Because they are both ‘Alt Right’
‘Alt Righters’ LOVE ‘Neocons’, these are INTERCHANGEABLE TERMS in my mind, or perhaps even clearer, Alt Right is synonymous with ‘Kahanist’
Why is the Trump appointments/campaign getting stuffed with ‘Alt Right’ type and ‘extreme right wing Pro-Israel’ appointments? Yep, you got it…
The American Israel Lobby/Jewish Lobby/Neocons target Muslims (Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya, Palestine) NOT Jews
The Israelis target Muslims (Iraq, Iran, Syria, Palestine, the rest of their Clean Break targets) NOT Jews
The International Islamophobes (LePen, Geert Wilders, Breivik, etc) target Muslims NOT Jews
Trump appointments are STUFFED with both the ‘Alt Right’ Gen Flynn, Mike Pompeo, Bannon – as well as the Kahanist/extreme Right Wing Israeli Kahanist-type picks like David Friedman, Greenblatt, maybe Frank Gaffney, etc.
They all get along and they all go watch ‘Homeland’ together to get their ‘Alt Right Kahanist’ rocks off (Pompeo just met the ‘Homeland’ producers at Mike Rodger’s house this week- can’t make it up)
Time to get this one fact clear – these new fascists ALL target Muslims, not Jews. The targets of the Alt Right are MUSLIMS not Jews, and it’s promoted by the Jewish Lobby/Israel Lobby
The collapse of Political Judaism in Israel (Zionism as practiced by it’s Israeli enthusiasts, which is Apartheid) and in America (the ‘Alt Right Movement and it’s Israeli Lobby/Jewish Lobby/Neocon supporters’) is in motion …
When America’s High Schoolers find out Trump and his ‘Alt Right are really the ‘Kahanist Alt Right’ it’s gonna happen even faster.
Humiliations Galore!
Trump is American Taliban. But I will say one thing in favour of the Taliban. The Planet is not their enemy. They would never appoint Myron Ebell to a senior position.