Trump to fire National Security Adviser McMaster as personalist circle tightens
By
Eric London
16 March 2018
The Washington Post reported last night that five White House sources claim President Donald Trump has decided to fire National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster.
The dismissal, which has not been officially announced by the White House and may not be implemented immediately, comes days after Trump announced the firing of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Trump’s presidency resembles less and less a presidential administration and more a personalist clique of appointees who serve their leader.
The present cabinet reshuffling marks a dramatic step to the right by what was already the most reactionary presidency in US history. Trump has nominated CIA Director Michael Pompeo, far-right stooge of the Koch brothers, as Tillerson’s replacement. His nominee to take Pompeo’s place is Gina Haspel, who ran a US blacksite torture center in Thailand during the Bush administration.
Among possible replacements for McMaster is John Bolton, the ultra-right George W. Bush administration US ambassador to the UN and a ferocious advocate of war against Iran and North Korea. Vox wrote that Bolton “seems poised to become President Donald Trump’s next national security adviser, which would have significant—and frightening—implications for the future of Trump’s foreign policy.”
Last night’s Post report portrays Trump in his element as he assembles a cabinet totally dominated by the military-intelligence apparatus. “For all of the evident disorder,” the Post wrote, “Trump feels emboldened, advisers said” and “is enjoying the process of assessing his team and making changes, tightening his inner circle to those he considers survivors and who respect his…