October 04, 2017
Worries about Trump’s Generals Are Overblown
It seems that President Trump’s reliance upon retired and active-duty generals in staffing the upper echelons of his administration has raised concerns among a large number of well-informed people.
With retired Marine general John Kelly serving as White House chief of staff, retired Marine general James Mattis serving as secretary of defense, and Lieutenant General H. R. McMaster serving as national-security adviser, charges are being levied that the nation has embarked down a dangerous path. Some feel that the abundance of retired military officers in high-level government positions undermines the “non-partisan nature of the military” and decreases the public’s trust in its armed forces. Others are of the opinion that Trump’s reliance on military men will “throw off the balance of a system that for good reason favors civilian leadership.” These criticisms are relatively mild in comparison with those levied in the Boston Globe by journalist and academic Stephen Kinzer, who charges that Kelly, Mattis, and McMaster make up a modern military junta in the halls of the White House.
Read the full op-ed in National Review.
More from CNAS
-
What to Expect From U.S., Iran Talks Friday in Oman?
Video
Bloomberg's Becca Wasser & Wayne Sanders state they are not optimistic when discussing what they expect from the US and Iran when both countries speak Friday in Oman. They sug...
By Becca Wasser
-
Opposites Attract (and Execute)
Commentary
Introduction The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) in recent months has signaled interest in bringing new entrants into the defense industrial base (DIB), including venture-bac...
By Veronica Daigle & Grace Newsom
-
Samuel Bendett on Drones and the Future of War
Podcast
CNAS senior adjunct fellow Samuel Bendett joined the Revolution in Military Affairs podcast to discuss how drones impact warfare and the future of war. Listen to the full inte...
By Samuel Bendett
-
The Ever-Changing, Unchanged Defense Acquisition System
Commentary
Introduction The defense acquisition system has been and continues to be in a period of great change, both in terms of the laws and processes that govern it and the private se...
By Susanna V. Blume
