President-elect Donald Trump has offered the
influential post of national security adviser to his
controversial campaign adviser, former general
Michael Flynn, US media reported Trump officials
as saying Thursday.
Highly respected as a decorated military
intelligence officer helping combat insurgent
networks in Afghanistan and Iraq, Flynn, 57, later
generated widespread criticism for his strident
backing of the Republican’s campaign.
He served as Trump’s leading adviser on national
security issues during the campaign and was a
highly visible surrogate, with a hardline stance on
radical Islam.
It was not immediately clear whether Flynn had
accepted the offer to become what many believe
to be the country’s top national security official.
As national security adviser, he would provide
one of the most influential voices on foreign
policy as well as some of the most pressing
security issues facing the country, including the
battle against the Islamic State group, China’s
rising challenge in the South China Sea and
elsewhere, and opposition from Russia.
His role would probably be even more influential
than his predecessors’ thanks to Trump’s near-
total lack of experience in national security
matters. Flynn would serve as the
administration’s main contact with the Pentagon,
State Department and intelligence agencies,
overseeing a staff of around 400 people.
He left the military after President Barack Obama
fired him from his post as head of the Defense
Intelligence Agency in 2014 following complaints
about his leadership style.
He became a vocal critic of Obama’s, blaming
his sacking on the administration’s unwillingness
to listen to his warnings about the threat from
radical Islam.
He prompted criticism for his view that Islamist
militants pose global civilization an existential
threat, saying the world has fallen into a struggle
between “centrist nationalists” and “socialists,”
The Washington Post reported.
Such views are close to those of Trump, who
has called for banning all Muslim visitors to the
United States and advocated that Muslims in the
United States be registered, subjected to loyalty
tests and even deported.
Such views, and others including his
denunciation of the war in Iraq, have alienated
many of his former military colleagues.
As Trump’s campaign adviser, Flynn led chants
of “Lock her up!” against Hillary Clinton during
campaign rallies and fired off numerous tweets
excoriating the Democratic candidate. He
apologized for one that appeared to be anti-
Semitic.
Flynn’s refusal to reject Trump’s support for
waterboarding and other torture against
suspects, as well as his call to kill extremists’
family members have helped generate more
opposition to his appointment.
He was also criticized for traveling to Moscow
last year, when he sat next to Russian President
Vladimir Putin at a gala for the state-run
television propaganda channel RT, a trip for
which he was paid, The Washington Post
reported.
However, the controversy surrounding Flynn’s
possible appointment may matter little to Trump
because it would not require confirmation in the
Senate, unlike other key cabinet posts.
