Taranaki Daily News

McMaster could challenge Trump

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UNITED STATES: US President Donald Trump has named Lieutenant General Herbert Raymond McMaster as his new national security adviser, choosing a military officer known for speaking his mind and challengin­g his superiors.

McMaster is a highly regarded military tactician and strategic thinker, but his selection yesterday surprised some observers, who wondered how the officer, whose army career stalled at times for his questionin­g of authority, would deal with a White House that has not welcomed criticism.

‘‘He is highly respected by everybody in the military and we’re very honoured to have him,’’ Trump said. ‘‘He’s a man of tremendous talent and tremendous experience.’’

One subject on which Trump and McMaster could soon differ is Russia.

McMaster shares the consensus view among the US national security establishm­ent that Russia is a threat and an antagonist to the US, while the man he is replacing, retired lieutenant general Michael Flynn, appeared to view it more as a potential geopolitic­al partner.

Flynn was fired as national security adviser on February 13 after reports emerged that he had misled Vice President Mike Pence about speaking to Russia’s ambassador to the US about American sanctions before Trump’s inaugurati­on.

The national security adviser is an independen­t aide to the president and does not require confirmati­on by the US Senate.

Republican Senator John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and a frequent Trump critic, praised McMaster as an ‘‘outstandin­g’’ choice.

A former US ambassador to Russia under president Barack Obama, Michael McFaul, a Democrat, praised McMaster on Twitter as ‘‘terrific’’ and said McMaster ‘‘will not be afraid to question his boss.’’

Trump also named Keith Kellogg, a retired US Army general who has been serving as the acting national security adviser, as chief of staff to the National Security Council.

John Bolton, a former US ambassador to the United Nations, would serve the administra­tion in another capacity, Trump said.

Kellogg and Bolton were among those in contention as Trump spent the long Presidents Day weekend considerin­g his options for replacing Flynn. His first choice, retired vice admiral Robert Harward, turned down the job last week.

McMaster, 54, is a West Point graduate who gained renown in the first Gulf War - and was awarded a Silver Star - after he commanded a small troop of the US 2nd Armoured Cavalry Regiment that destroyed a much larger Iraqi Republican Guard force in 1991, in what many consider the biggest tank battle since World War II.

McMaster’s fame grew after his 1997 book Derelictio­n of Duty criticised the country’s military and political leadership for poor leadership during the Vietnam War.

In a July 14, 2014 interview with the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer in Columbus, Georgia, McMaster said: ‘‘Some people have a misunderst­anding about the army Some people think, hey, you’re in the military and everything is superhiera­rchical and you’re in an environmen­t that is intolerabl­e of criticism and people don’t want frank assessment­s.

‘‘I think the opposite is the case ... And the commanders that I’ve worked for, they want frank assessment­s, they want criticism and feedback.’’

That attitude was not always shared by his superiors, and it led to him being passed over for promotion to brigadier general twice, in 2006 and 2007. - Reuters

 ?? PHOTO: REUTERS ?? US President Donald Trump and his new National Security Adviser, Lieutenant General Herbert McMaster, chat during the announceme­nt of McMaster’s appointmen­t at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.
PHOTO: REUTERS US President Donald Trump and his new National Security Adviser, Lieutenant General Herbert McMaster, chat during the announceme­nt of McMaster’s appointmen­t at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.

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