President Donald J. Trump is continuing with “changing of the guard” at the Pentagon Level, this month, with sweeping changes at the advisor level, which should alter the media that something is unfolding.
“Directive “removes 11 high-profile advisors from the Defense Policy Board, including former Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and Madeleine Albright; retired Adm. Gary Roughead.” Several Mattis appointees also removed,” Jeff Carlson , a reporter for the Epoch Times, wrote.
Earlier in November Trump fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper and acting Undersecretary of Defense for Policy James Anderson, who sought to keep the outgoing advisory board in place to allow for policy continuity. Both Esper and Anderson were removed earlier this month in a purge of Pentagon officials.
According to a DC Insider Magazine who broke the story of the high level firings:
“Several members of the top federal advisory committee to the U.S. Department of Defense have been suddenly pushed out, multiple U.S. officials told Foreign Policy, in what appears to be the outgoing Trump administration’s parting shot at scions of the foreign-policy establishment.
The directive, which the Pentagon’s White House liaison Joshua Whitehouse sent on Wednesday afternoon, removes 11 high-profile advisors from the Defense Policy Board, including former Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and Madeleine Albright; retired Adm. Gary Roughead, who served as chief of naval operations; and a onetime ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, Jane Harman. Rudy De Leon, a former chief operating officer at the Pentagon once considered by then-Defense Secretary James Mattis for a high-level policy role, will also be ousted.”
Also booted in today’s sweep of the board, which is effective immediately, were former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and David McCormick, a former Treasury Department undersecretary during the George W. Bush administration. Both had been added to the board by Mattis in 2017. Jamie Gorelick, a Clinton administration deputy attorney general; Robert Joseph, a chief U.S. nuclear negotiator who convinced Libya to give up weapons of mass destruction; former Bush Deputy National Security Advisor J.D. Crouch II; and Franklin Miller, a former top defense official, have also been removed. This story is based on interviews with three current and former officials. In a statement late Wednesday, the Department of Defense confirmed the decision. “As part of long-considered changes, we can confirm that several members of the Department’s Defense Policy Board have been removed,” a defense official said. “We are extremely grateful for their dedicated service, commitment, and contributions to our national security. Future announcements for new members of the board will be made soon.”
The board, overseen by the Pentagon’s top policy official, the undersecretary of defense for policy, serves as a kind of in-house think tank on retainer for top military leaders, providing independent counsel and advice on defense policy. The Defense Policy Board includes former top military brass, secretaries of state, members of Congress, and other senior diplomats and foreign-policy experts. The status of two other members of the panel—or who would replace the ousted members—was not immediately clear.”
In their article, Pentagon Purges Leading Advisors From Defense Policy Board, BY Jack Detsch, Robbie Gramer, wrote for Foreign Policy, “It’s unclear why the Trump administration waited until its final months to shake up the influential group of outside experts advising top Pentagon leaders.”
Perhaps because he knows he isn’t leaving office? They have access to the President, why not ask him that question?
This story is developing…
Kari is an ex-Community Organizer who writes about Cultural Marxism, grassroots activism, music, IndyCar racing and political campaigns. @Saorsa1776
