February 02, 2017
Bannon’s ‘Strategic Initiatives’ Cabal Inside the NSC Is Dangerous Hypocrisy
It has been a tough few days for the National Security Council. The news that Trump’s political guru Stephen Bannon secured a place on the NSC’s Principals Committee was troubling enough, but the creation of a Bannon-led “Strategic Initiatives Group” within the NSC further erodes its stature, independence, and influence.
We would be the first to say that the NSC is imperfect. As two people who worked in President Barack Obama’s White House, and who were designated to lead Hillary Clinton’s NSC “landing team” had she won the presidency, we’ve thought a lot about how to make the NSC and interagency process work better — something we’ll have a lot more to say about at Shadow Government. For now, suffice to say that in almost every way, Trump’s team has done the opposite of what we would suggest. This kind of “disruption” may feel good right now and may send Washington’s Twitterverse into apoplectic frenzy — but Trump will soon learn that it will only bring dysfunction, and likely worse. Dust off your histories of Iran-Contra to get a sense of what may come.
Read the full article at Foreign Policy.
More from CNAS
-
Podcast
Emma Ashford and Thomas Wright join Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Carisa Nietsche to discuss the future of America's democracy promotion efforts abroad and what the U.S. governmen...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Carisa Nietsche, Emma Ashford & Thomas Wright
-
Podcast
Constanze Stelzenmüller and Sam Denney join Carisa Nietsche and Jim Townsend to discuss German foreign and security policy, upcoming German elections, and what might change af...
By Carisa Nietsche, Jim Townsend, Constanze Stelzenmüller & Sam Denney
-
Commentary
The need to amplify new and diverse voices in national security policymaking has never been clearer....
By Chris Estep, Ainikki Riikonen & Cole Stevens
-
Commentary
It remains critical for the Biden administration and the U.S. Congress to work with transatlantic allies to create a bulwark against Beijing’s economic coercion and advance ne...
By Carisa Nietsche & Martijn Rasser