Former
Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has
been nominated as Director of National
Intelligence by President-elect Donald Trump.
The so-called intelligence community is up in
arms about this. That is a very good thing.
Tulsi
Gabbard (Reuters, Jeenah Moon photo)
Here’s
what Reuters has to say:
WASHINGTON,
Nov 14 (Reuters) - President-elect Donald
Trump’s choice of Tulsi Gabbard as U.S.
intelligence chief has sent shockwaves
through the national security
establishment, adding to concerns that the
sprawling intelligence community will
become increasingly
politicized.
Trump’s
nomination of Gabbard, a former Democratic
congresswoman who lacks deep intelligence
experience and is seen as
soft on Russia and Syria,
is among several high-level picks that
suggest he may be prioritizing personal
allegiance over competence as he assembles
his second-term team.
Among
the risks, say current and former
intelligence officials and independent
experts, are that top advisers could feed
the incoming Republican president a
distorted view of global threats based on
what they believe will please him and that
foreign allies may be reluctant to share
vital information.
Randal
Phillips, a former CIA operations
directorate official who worked as the
agency's top representative in China, said
that with Trump loyalists in top
government posts, “this could become the
avenue of choice for some really questionable
actions” by the leadership
of the intelligence community. [Emphasis
added.]
As
if the intelligence “community” isn’t already
politicized! And who sees Gabbard as allegedly
“soft” on Russia and Syria? Hillary Clinton?
The “queen of warmongers,” as Gabbard
memorably described her?
Wow.
We might get “some really questionable
actions” by the IC (intelligence community).
I’m glad we’ve never had any of those before.
Tulsi
has a wealth of experience in the military
(she remains a lieutenant colonel), she’s a
former Congresswoman who’s served on important
committees dealing with national security, and
she’s tough as nails, having survived ruthless
attacks on her character by the neocon Clinton
wing of the Democratic Party. She is an
excellent choice as Director.
What
Tulsi has is integrity. Honesty. Poise.
Perhaps even more importantly, she has Trump’s
ear and his respect. As Director, she will
oversee the preparation of Trump’s daily
intelligence briefs. Trump was notorious in
his first term in office for not paying much
attention to those briefs. He should do better
with Tulsi, somebody he trusts, preparing
them.
Tulsi
won my respect in 2016 when she supported
Bernie Sanders and revealed how the Democratic
presidential primary process was being fixed
for Hillary Clinton. Tulsi has paid a high
price for her principled stance, being smeared
by Clinton and mainstream media outlets like
NBC as a “Russian asset,” maybe even a stooge
for Vladimir Putin. Politics is a rough game,
but accusing a serving U.S. military officer
and Congresswoman of being a “Putin puppet” is
truly reckless and defamatory. Good for Tulsi
for punching back.
The
establishment Democratic party hates Tulsi
because she refused to play their game. She
refused to bow to the Clintons. Tulsi has also
questioned America’s constant warmongering and
knows a thing or two about the horrendous
costs of war. She even has a normal life as a
surfer. She has a connection to nature that I
respect.
Her
poise, her toughness, her integrity, makes her
a superb choice as DNI. The more the
intelligence “community” complains about her,
the louder certain Democrats scream, the more
certain I am that Trump has made a smart
decision here.
Recall
when Kamala Harris vowed to put a Republican
in her cabinet? Well, Trump has made Gabbard
his DNI and RFK Jr. will lead Health and Human
Services. He’s picked two (former) Democrats
for important posts and the Democrats can’t
stand it.
On
this occasion, with these appointments, I
applaud Trump. You go, Tulsi. Ride the wave.
Continue to serve our country as you always
have.
