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Tuesday, February 14, 2017
George Friedman — The Flynn Drama
I am missing something here. This isn’t meant to defend Flynn. It just means that I am missing something....
Possible that some of Trump's team were involved in the takedown.
Flynn was not alt right by any stretch, but he did interact with alt right figures, upsetting some people for what they perceived as being inflammatory. If Flynn had been more clever, he would have been much harder to get at. But he was not and that was his own undoing. He should have known better. But that doesn't excuse the takedown, which is a real black eye to the America that it will probably never recover from. There's no doubt now that the deep state is in the drivers seat, not that there was much doubt before for those paying attention.
Flynn was a life-long Democrat, a former Obama appointee, a three star general (no mean feat) and a spook himself. His importance was that he could stand between Trump and the deep state and tell Trump when he was being bullshitted. He could also discipline the deep state to some degree through his influence with Trump. With Flynn removed, Trump as no one between him and the deep state and they can run him like they do all presidents. They had to get Flynn out of the picture and they did. It appears that Trump can forget about taming the deep state, if he had that intention, unless he is very clever. I don't think he will, since it requires expenditure of tremendous political capital. This is why he probably decided the fight was not worth the capital it would eat up.
Flynn was also described by another general and poobas he worked for as one if the greatest intel officers of the 20th C. That's how he put it. Of course, he ran the covert ops for the DIA before he resigned fromt eh Obama admin, and this general or guy who talked about him said that he could find anybody anywhere. That he was unbelievably thorough and canny. He had nothing but high praise for his talents.There is great competition between the CIA and the DIA, which is military.
I'm sure Trumps is going to stay in touch with him. Dinners at the White House, etc. Trump is entitled to invite whomever he likes to his private quarters.
It's far from over yet. You don't have to win all the battles to win the war. All you have to do is win the last battle, or else outlast the opponent.
IN addition, it's early and there's a lot we don't know yet.
The strategy developing against Trump now is to keep him bogged down in investigations that eat up his political capital and prevent him from carry out his agenda.
But he is still president.
The opposition has to be careful of taking down the presidency along with taking down Trump or tying him up. If they over politicize this, which they are dangerously close to doing, it will backfire on them.
Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. There are still plenty of twists and turns in this reality show, or computer game, however you wish to conceive it.
The article is more thoughtful than most, but Trump knew up front where Flynn stood on relations with Russia. It's unlikely that Flynn did anything that surprised Trump.
The author is probably right that there are cold warriors in the administration who stabbed Flynn in the back -- but Trump hired them, knowing they were cold warriors.
Regardless, the buck stopped on Trump's desk, and Trump sided with the cold warriors, and now Trump is calling for Russia to "return" Crimea. Cold War 2.0 is back in full swing.
I'm looking forward to reading what Pepe Escobar has to say about the Flynn debacle. Pepe claims to have a source who is in direct communication with Trump, and who so far has always been right. Maybe there is some multi-dimensional chess game going on, but I don't see it.
I'm looking forward to reading what Pepe Escobar has to say about the Flynn debacle. Pepe claims to have a source who is in direct communication with Trump, and who so far has always been right. Maybe there is some multi-dimensional chess game going on, but I don't see it.
I looked today, Dan, but apparently Pepe hasn't put anything up on it as yet.
This is going to roll and roll, and many heads are going to roll and roll, unless Trump caves in.
The Guardian's reporting that many more than Flynn were involved in this full retard stupidity with Russian intelligence. Watch out for the word "treason" or "traitor" to be used soon.
This won't be a question of how many of Trump's top team were involved, but who wasn't? This may end with a purging of team Trump. The question is what will happen if they've got Trump himself talking to Russian intelligence prior to the election? Trump's such a macho loose cannon, he may well have been in contact all the fucking time!
If this intelligence operation doesn't have a codename, I suggest "Operation Emasculation" or "Operation Castration".
The legality of anything is based solely on who is in power and what those who wield power will allow. I am certain that Flynn was told that he had nothing to worry about, and he could speak freely on a recorded line to Russia about lifting the sanctions. So, what changed? I would say the executive order banning travel from seven countries, Bannon being elevated to the NSC, and Trumps attack on the federal judiciary. There are entrenched business interests and legal interests that are not happy. The intelligence community saved the tapes for the right moment, and this is a message to Trump. Shape up or we have more. And by the way, I think he will be jettisoning Bannon and Miller real soon.
John said... Flynn ran black ops? Not much of a black ops mastermind if these shenanigans are anything to go by!
Before he joined the Trump campaign, I had never heard of Flynn. After watching a couple of videos of him saying kooky stuff, well, he left me no choice but to conclude that he was a kook. What else could I have concluded? I mean, it takes a kook to say kooky stuff. And worse, there is video of him contradicting his kooky talk. So he's not just a kook -- he's a professional kook :)
OK, so let's forget for a sec that he was a kook. Was he qualified for the post that he was appointed to by the tv reality host in the Oval Office? Here's Melvin Goodman's take today in counterpunch magazine:
In this conspiratorial realm, it’s important to acknowledge at the outset that Flynn was probably the least qualified and the most questionable individual in the 70-year history of the National Security Council to be selected as the president’s sherpa for national security policy. His behavior during the presidential campaign was thoroughly unprofessional and a source of embarrassment to the military establishment and the Republican Party. His retirement from the military several years ago was engineered by the White House and the Joint Chiefs of Staff because of his failed stewardship at the Defense Intelligence Agency. He had a reputation at DIA as a polemicist, and many of his pronouncements there were derided as “Flynn facts” because they had no basis in actual fact.
John, just say it, say what it truly on your mind -- We have the Keystone Kops in the White House! God help us all :(
A new memoir by a former senior State Department analyst provides stunning details on how decades of support for Islamist militants linked to Osama bin Laden brought about the emergence of the ‘Islamic State’ (ISIS).
The book establishes a crucial context for recent admissions by Michael T. Flynn, the retired head of the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), confirming that White House officials made a “willful decision” to support al-Qaeda affiliated jihadists in Syria — despite being warned by the DIA that doing so would likely create an ‘ISIS’-like entity in the region.
J. Michael Springmann, a retired career US diplomat whose last government post was in the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research, reveals in his new book that US covert operations in alliance with Middle East states funding anti-Western terrorist groups are nothing new. Such operations, he shows, have been carried out for various short-sighted reasons since the Cold War and after. [emphasis added)
That's why Trump hired Flynn on. He could see then that the rest of the intel pack was dangerous.
Tom, this all goes back to the Reagan years. We get it :)
Now as for the kook ... he says things one day, contradicts them the next ... just like that tv reality kook in the Oval Office. Maybe that's why he hired him ;)
You know, come to think of it, maybe I am the kook or even the fool. You see, if I were in Flynn's position, I would never forfeit principles. But that is just me, the fool.
lastgreek: "John, just say it, say what it truly on your mind -- We have the Keystone Kops in the White House! God help us all"
I came to that conclusion within days of Trump taking office. There was all the macho bluster of thuggish idiots who don't know anything, like when a warlord overruns the capital, installs himself as president and then is incapable of understanding what a central bank is, other than his own personal printing press, or his country's long agreed upon grand strategy and then shoots everybody in sight, sets fire to the institutions of state and runs the country like he did his corner of town when he was a smalltime gangster. At best, these are the tantrums of the 300 pounds football player who can't do his algebra homework and thinks smashing bones with his motorbike helmet compensates for his ignorance, or drinks a keg of beer to divert attention from his inadequacies.
These guys are so way in over their heads, and all the thuggish bluster from the Bannons and Conways doesn't change that. Things are obviously bad when the head of US special forces operations is on record as saying he's never seen an administration in such "unbelievable turmoil". Some people get taken by bluster. I have no idea why. It's easy to spot, and when you do you can be certain that the person from which it emanates is hiding their stupidity and/or ignorance because they cannot understand their environment. And this is just going to continue, not only because the media, vested interests and deep state detest Trump, some of which are legitimate, but because Trump and his chumps are thuggish and not that bright.
The scandals won't stop and Washington is going to ensure this administration doesn't govern, or does the bare minimum until it capitulates to its demands. Trump and co are going to be spending all their time fighting bush fires unleashed by the intelligence agencies who find Trump and chumps objectionable at best, and Trump's moronic speech to the CIA was probably taken as an act of war. I'd love to know which moron had the bright idea idea for Trump to deliver a speech to the CIA that infuriated the DoD and intelligence agencies? What, these agencies haven't been tracking Trump and his chumps for a year or more? And they're not willing to play dirty? You have to wonder how thick the FBI file on Trump is, and how long before it mysteriously starts to get leaked to the NYT and WaPo!
"Friedman" ie Jew "missing something"????? Perhaps...
ReplyDeleteHow far alt-right is the Trump admin?
Tom what do you think ?
ReplyDeleteMaybe even Flynn too pro Israel for these guys?
Flynn was the 2nd coming of Christ. We're doomed. Satan has won.
ReplyDeleteMissing all the details. Not as dire or as black and white as portrayed.
ReplyDeleteFlynn was not alt right by any stretch, but he did interact with alt right figures, upsetting some people for what they perceived as being inflammatory. If Flynn had been more clever, he would have been much harder to get at. But he was not and that was his own undoing. He should have known better. But that doesn't excuse the takedown, which is a real black eye to the America that it will probably never recover from. There's no doubt now that the deep state is in the drivers seat, not that there was much doubt before for those paying attention.
ReplyDeleteFlynn was a life-long Democrat, a former Obama appointee, a three star general (no mean feat) and a spook himself. His importance was that he could stand between Trump and the deep state and tell Trump when he was being bullshitted. He could also discipline the deep state to some degree through his influence with Trump. With Flynn removed, Trump as no one between him and the deep state and they can run him like they do all presidents. They had to get Flynn out of the picture and they did. It appears that Trump can forget about taming the deep state, if he had that intention, unless he is very clever. I don't think he will, since it requires expenditure of tremendous political capital. This is why he probably decided the fight was not worth the capital it would eat up.
Flynn was also described by another general and poobas he worked for as one if the greatest intel officers of the 20th C. That's how he put it. Of course, he ran the covert ops for the DIA before he resigned fromt eh Obama admin, and this general or guy who talked about him said that he could find anybody anywhere. That he was unbelievably thorough and canny. He had nothing but high praise for his talents.There is great competition between the CIA and the DIA, which is military.
ReplyDelete"poobah he worked for as one of"
ReplyDeleteI'm sure Trumps is going to stay in touch with him. Dinners at the White House, etc. Trump is entitled to invite whomever he likes to his private quarters.
ReplyDeleteIt's far from over yet. You don't have to win all the battles to win the war. All you have to do is win the last battle, or else outlast the opponent.
ReplyDeleteIN addition, it's early and there's a lot we don't know yet.
The strategy developing against Trump now is to keep him bogged down in investigations that eat up his political capital and prevent him from carry out his agenda.
But he is still president.
The opposition has to be careful of taking down the presidency along with taking down Trump or tying him up. If they over politicize this, which they are dangerously close to doing, it will backfire on them.
Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. There are still plenty of twists and turns in this reality show, or computer game, however you wish to conceive it.
The article is more thoughtful than most, but Trump knew up front where Flynn stood on relations with Russia. It's unlikely that Flynn did anything that surprised Trump.
ReplyDeleteThe author is probably right that there are cold warriors in the administration who stabbed Flynn in the back -- but Trump hired them, knowing they were cold warriors.
Regardless, the buck stopped on Trump's desk, and Trump sided with the cold warriors, and now Trump is calling for Russia to "return" Crimea. Cold War 2.0 is back in full swing.
I'm looking forward to reading what Pepe Escobar has to say about the Flynn debacle. Pepe claims to have a source who is in direct communication with Trump, and who so far has always been right. Maybe there is some multi-dimensional chess game going on, but I don't see it.
I'm looking forward to reading what Pepe Escobar has to say about the Flynn debacle. Pepe claims to have a source who is in direct communication with Trump, and who so far has always been right. Maybe there is some multi-dimensional chess game going on, but I don't see it.
ReplyDeleteI looked today, Dan, but apparently Pepe hasn't put anything up on it as yet.
This is going to roll and roll, and many heads are going to roll and roll, unless Trump caves in.
ReplyDeleteThe Guardian's reporting that many more than Flynn were involved in this full retard stupidity with Russian intelligence. Watch out for the word "treason" or "traitor" to be used soon.
This won't be a question of how many of Trump's top team were involved, but who wasn't? This may end with a purging of team Trump. The question is what will happen if they've got Trump himself talking to Russian intelligence prior to the election? Trump's such a macho loose cannon, he may well have been in contact all the fucking time!
If this intelligence operation doesn't have a codename, I suggest "Operation Emasculation" or "Operation Castration".
Flynn ran black ops? Not much of a black ops mastermind if these shenanigans are anything to go by!
ReplyDeleteThe legality of anything is based solely on who is in power and what those who wield power will allow. I am certain that Flynn was told that he had nothing to worry about, and he could speak freely on a recorded line to Russia about lifting the sanctions. So, what changed? I would say the executive order banning travel from seven countries, Bannon being elevated to the NSC, and Trumps attack on the federal judiciary. There are entrenched business interests and legal interests that are not happy. The intelligence community saved the tapes for the right moment, and this is a message to Trump. Shape up or we have more. And by the way, I think he will be jettisoning Bannon and Miller real soon.
ReplyDeleteJohn said...
ReplyDeleteFlynn ran black ops? Not much of a black ops mastermind if these shenanigans are anything to go by!
Before he joined the Trump campaign, I had never heard of Flynn. After watching a couple of videos of him saying kooky stuff, well, he left me no choice but to conclude that he was a kook. What else could I have concluded? I mean, it takes a kook to say kooky stuff. And worse, there is video of him contradicting his kooky talk. So he's not just a kook -- he's a professional kook :)
OK, so let's forget for a sec that he was a kook. Was he qualified for the post that he was appointed to by the tv reality host in the Oval Office? Here's Melvin Goodman's take today in counterpunch magazine:
In this conspiratorial realm, it’s important to acknowledge at the outset that Flynn was probably the least qualified and the most questionable individual in the 70-year history of the National Security Council to be selected as the president’s sherpa for national security policy. His behavior during the presidential campaign was thoroughly unprofessional and a source of embarrassment to the military establishment and the Republican Party. His retirement from the military several years ago was engineered by the White House and the Joint Chiefs of Staff because of his failed stewardship at the Defense Intelligence Agency. He had a reputation at DIA as a polemicist, and many of his pronouncements there were derided as “Flynn facts” because they had no basis in actual fact.
John, just say it, say what it truly on your mind -- We have the Keystone Kops in the White House! God help us all :(
http://www.counterpunch.org/2017/02/15/flynn-russia-and-the-world-of-conspiracy-thinking/
Nafeez Ahmed, Officials: Islamic State arose from US support for al-Qaeda in Iraq
ReplyDeleteA former Pentagon intelligence chief, Iraqi government sources, and a retired career US diplomat reveal US complicity in the rise of ISIS
A new memoir by a former senior State Department analyst provides stunning details on how decades of support for Islamist militants linked to Osama bin Laden brought about the emergence of the ‘Islamic State’ (ISIS).
The book establishes a crucial context for recent admissions by Michael T. Flynn, the retired head of the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), confirming that White House officials made a “willful decision” to support al-Qaeda affiliated jihadists in Syria — despite being warned by the DIA that doing so would likely create an ‘ISIS’-like entity in the region.
J. Michael Springmann, a retired career US diplomat whose last government post was in the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research, reveals in his new book that US covert operations in alliance with Middle East states funding anti-Western terrorist groups are nothing new. Such operations, he shows, have been carried out for various short-sighted reasons since the Cold War and after. [emphasis added)
That's why Trump hired Flynn on. He could see then that the rest of the intel pack was dangerous.
Tom, this all goes back to the Reagan years. We get it :)
ReplyDeleteNow as for the kook ... he says things one day, contradicts them the next ... just like that tv reality kook in the Oval Office. Maybe that's why he hired him ;)
Flynn shifted stance on Turkey, torture
http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/307046-flynn-shifted-stance-on-turkey-torture
Turkish Client Paid Trump Adviser Michael Flynn’s Company “Tens of Thousands” of Dollars for Lobbying
https://theintercept.com/2016/11/17/turkish-client-paid-trump-adviser-michael-flynns-company-tens-of-thousands-of-dollars-for-lobbying/
You know, come to think of it, maybe I am the kook or even the fool. You see, if I were in Flynn's position, I would never forfeit principles. But that is just me, the fool.
Memoirs? Those are leaks, dammit!
ReplyDeletelastgreek: "John, just say it, say what it truly on your mind -- We have the Keystone Kops in the White House! God help us all"
ReplyDeleteI came to that conclusion within days of Trump taking office. There was all the macho bluster of thuggish idiots who don't know anything, like when a warlord overruns the capital, installs himself as president and then is incapable of understanding what a central bank is, other than his own personal printing press, or his country's long agreed upon grand strategy and then shoots everybody in sight, sets fire to the institutions of state and runs the country like he did his corner of town when he was a smalltime gangster. At best, these are the tantrums of the 300 pounds football player who can't do his algebra homework and thinks smashing bones with his motorbike helmet compensates for his ignorance, or drinks a keg of beer to divert attention from his inadequacies.
These guys are so way in over their heads, and all the thuggish bluster from the Bannons and Conways doesn't change that. Things are obviously bad when the head of US special forces operations is on record as saying he's never seen an administration in such "unbelievable turmoil". Some people get taken by bluster. I have no idea why. It's easy to spot, and when you do you can be certain that the person from which it emanates is hiding their stupidity and/or ignorance because they cannot understand their environment. And this is just going to continue, not only because the media, vested interests and deep state detest Trump, some of which are legitimate, but because Trump and his chumps are thuggish and not that bright.
The scandals won't stop and Washington is going to ensure this administration doesn't govern, or does the bare minimum until it capitulates to its demands. Trump and co are going to be spending all their time fighting bush fires unleashed by the intelligence agencies who find Trump and chumps objectionable at best, and Trump's moronic speech to the CIA was probably taken as an act of war. I'd love to know which moron had the bright idea idea for Trump to deliver a speech to the CIA that infuriated the DoD and intelligence agencies? What, these agencies haven't been tracking Trump and his chumps for a year or more? And they're not willing to play dirty? You have to wonder how thick the FBI file on Trump is, and how long before it mysteriously starts to get leaked to the NYT and WaPo!