Thursday, August 10, 2017

What Was Behind McMaster's NSC Purge



This seven page memo is the stuff of soap operas. It is also what triggered General H.R. McMaster to purge the National Security Council of its Mike Flynn/Steve Bannon proxies.

The memo at the heart of the latest blowup at the National Security Council paints a dark picture of media, academics, the “deep state,” and other enemies allegedly working to subvert U.S. President Donald Trump, according to a copy of the document obtained by Foreign Policy.

Trump is being attacked, the memo says, because he represents “an existential threat to cultural Marxist memes that dominate the prevailing cultural narrative.” Those threatened by Trump include “‘deep state’ actors, globalists, bankers, Islamists, and establishment Republicans.”

The memo is part of a broader political struggle inside the White House between current National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster and alt-right operatives with a nationalist worldview who believe the Army general and his crew are subverting the president’s agenda.

Though not called out by name, McMaster was among those described in the document as working against Trump, according to a source with firsthand knowledge of the memo and the events. Higgins, the author, is widely regarded as a Flynn loyalist who dislikes McMaster and his team.

The story of the memo’s strange journey through the White House captures the zeitgeist of what has become the tragicomedy of the current White House: a son trying to please his father, an isolated general on a mission to find a leaker, a right-wing blogger with a window into the nation’s security apparatus, and a president whose closest confidante is a TV personality.

The result is an even wider rift between the president and his national security advisor, marking what may be the beginning of the end of the general’s tenure, and a radical shift of power on the NSC.

The memo, which you can access at the link above, is a flight of paranoia that posits Trump as beset by enemies, traitors from all sides. It ends with this call to arms with Trump as a latter day Lincoln:

The recent turn of events give rise to the observation that the defense of President Trump is the defense of America. In the same way President Lincoln was surrounded by political opposition both inside and outside of his wire, in both overt and covert forms, so too is President Trump. Had Lincoln failed, so too would have the Republic. The administration has been maneuvered into a constant backpedal by relentless political warfare attacks structured to force him to assume a reactive posture that assures inadequate responses. The president can either drive or be driven by events; it's time for him to drive them.



9 comments:

Lorne said...

Truly, deeply, disturbing, Mound.

Jay Farquharson said...

Since 9-11, a significant portion of the US, has gone completely cray-cray.

There is no "peak wingnut".

Troy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Troy said...

O.T.: B.C. makes symbolic choice in retaining Thomas Berger as counsel in Trans Mountain challenge

The Mound of Sound said...

It is disturbing, Lorne, that a group of radicals of this ilk could be infiltrated into the White House by the Flynns and the Bannons. I fear America is in greater jeopardy than many of its citizens imagine.

The Mound of Sound said...

Jay, did you read the Atlantic article that I posted on yesterday?

https://the-mound-of-sound.blogspot.ca/2017/08/a-nation-untethered-from-reality.html

The Mound of Sound said...

Troy, that's wonderful news. I knew Berger both from his advocacy and inquiries but also from arguing several cases in front of him. To me, Tom Berger has always seemed to have a certain aura. This warms my heart, the more so since reading this at the CBC web site: "the 84-year-old is perhaps the closest thing to a bona fide legend in B.C.'s legal and social justice circles and literally wrote the book on stopping pipelines."

You know what, Troy? I think our new government is serious about matters such as this. Wow, what a change, and it all hinged on that one, make it or break it riding - up island from me. We have much to be grateful for - finally.

Lulymay said...

Not hard to agree with your assessment, Mound. Seems like the whole Administration is loaded with Trumper and Trumpette wing-nuts.
I'm beginning to think there is only McMaster and Tillerson possessing an IQ of over 80 in the whole crowd that Trump hired.

The Mound of Sound said...


Mattis seems to be an A-lister from everything I've read, Lulymay. There are others who are bright enough only they're malevolent, dangerous especially with a president this flawed.