National Security Adviser

Henry Kissinger, Most Controversial Diplomat Since World War II, Is Dead At 100!

Ronald 3 Comments

Henry Kissinger, the most controversial diplomat since World War II, is dead at age 100!

The winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating the end of the Vietnam War, he is seen by many as having been an international outlaw and criminal for his involvement in spreading the Vietnam War into Cambodia; his support and promotion of a right wing government in Chile, destroying that democracy for a generation; and his lack of concern about human rights and loss of freedom in so many places around the world besides Chile, including Argentina.

As National Security Adviser and then Secretary of State to President Richard Nixon, and later to President Gerald Ford, he engaged in many unethical, if not illegal, actions.

A believer in Realpolitik in international relations, he was seen as lacking ethics and morality to the extreme, and was noted for his egotism and lack of concern about his reputation.

He is noted for helping to open up relations with the People’s Republic of China, and his dealings with the Soviet Union, and the Middle East cauldron. He also is criticized for backing Pakistan in the Bangladesh-India War for Independence of what had been East Pakistan, undermining relations with the largest populated nation, India, beyond China, and also encouraging the corrupt Shah of Iran during the energy crisis!

Seen as a brilliant and yet to many an evil man, he clashed with many other diplomatic and political figures, and stood out as diametrically opposite to many, including President Jimmy Carter, who survived him and one hopes will reach age 100 in ten months!

Henry Kissinger Reaches Age 100: Mixed Views On His Reputation And Legacy!

Ronald Leave a comment

Henry Kissinger, arguably the most significant Secretary of State in American history since World War II, turns age 100 today.

Sadly, Kissinger has a very checkered history, seen as outstanding in some ways as National Security Adviser and then the head of the State Department under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford.

But he has also been held complicit for supporting the prolonging of the Vietnam War under Nixon; backing the military coup in Argentina, which led to brutality and the deaths of tens of thousands of Argentines by death squads; the overthrow of the Chilean democracy in 1973, leading to the brutality of Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorial regime until 1990; support of the Pakistan dictatorship war against Bangladesh and India in 1971; and the bombing of Cambodia in 1970 and after during the Vietnam War.

On the positive side, he was involved in the negotiation of the Paris Peace Accords ending the Vietnam War; pioneering the policy of detente with the Soviet Union; promoting the opening of relations with the People’s Republic of China; and involvement in shuttle diplomacy that ended the 18 Day Yom Kippur War between Egypt and Israel in 1973.

So Kissinger is looked at by experts as both a “war criminal” but also a statesman who won the Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating the end of the Vietnam War.

Kissinger has been unable to travel freely to many areas of the world, since he left office in 1977, as he could have faced arrest for the evil deeds he endorsed and supported.

He will remain controversial in the future after his passing, but one thing is certain!

You cannot study the history of the Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford Presidencies, without realizing the great impact, both negative and positive, of the German Jewish refugee from Nazi Germany!

A Suggested Joe Biden Cabinet For 2021 Difficult To Formulate Before The Election Results Are Clear!

Ronald 3 Comments

Thinking ahead about a suggested Joe Biden Cabinet for 2021, it is difficult to formulate before the election results are clear.

If the Senate goes Democratic massively, to say 53-55 seats, then it might be possible to have one or two US Senators in the Cabinet, but having to take into consideration whether the governor in such states is a Democrat, so that Republicans do not gain a seat by such Senator joining the Biden Cabinet.

The same goes for the US House of Representatives, which hopefully will see a 10 gain seat for the Democrats to about 245-250 seats, and then allow some House members to be Biden Cabinet officers.

Of course, there are former members in the Cabinet or sub Cabinet from the Presidencies of Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, who might be factored in to possible Cabinet posts under Joe Biden, with one example being former National Security Adviser Susan Rice in the Obama Administration.

So trying to formulate a list is difficult, and much of it may be too speculative and or unrealistic at this time.

So just a few suggestions of who might be selected to be part of the Biden Cabinet or other top aides and advisers. besides Susan Rice mentioned above.

It would seem likely at least one Republican would be put into the Biden Cabinet, as is customary, and it would seem to me that the most appropriate would be former Ohio Governor and former Congressman John Kasich.

Also possible is former Pennsylvania Congressman Charlie Dent or former Arizona Senator Jeff Flake.

At the same time, some former Democratic contenders in the Presidential Primaries of 2020 would seem fit to put into the Cabinet, including possibly the following:

Former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg

Entrepreneur Andrew Yang

Former San Antonio Mayor and Secretary of Housing And Urban Development Julian Castro

Former Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke

Notice just from this list the wide diversity of just this short list of potential candidate for the Biden Cabinet—African American female; former Republican Governor, Congressman, and Senator; former Mayors; former Obama Cabinet member; a gay male former Mayor Presidential candidate; and a Latino and Asian contender for President

Time To End The Vice Presidential Sweepstakes: Best Choice Is Either Kamala Harris Or Susan Rice

Ronald 9 Comments

We are now in the month of August, two weeks away from the Democratic National Convention.

It is past time for former Vice President Joe Biden to select his running mate, which seems clearly will be a woman of color.

And despite promotion of other candidates, the two best, most logical, are:

California Senator Kamala Harris

Former National Security Adviser and United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice

Typically, Democrats who are Presidential nominees, select a sitting United States Senator, as they have done in every election since 1944, except 1972 and 1984, although in 1972, the original selection was Senator Thomas Eagleton of Missouri, who bowed out over concerns that he had psychiatric care. The fact was that Eagleton was perfectly stable for the rest of his life, and served another 14 years in the US Senate, but there was hysteria at the time about mental illness.

Imagine now with a President who is clearly mentally ill, the irony of it all!

Kennedy brother in law Sargent Shriver, who had been head of the Peace Corps and the War on Poverty, and Ambassador to France, all appointed positions, replaced Eagleton as the Vice Presidential running mate of Senator George McGovern in 1972.

Earlier, Henry A. Wallace, who had been Secretary of Agriculture under Franklin D. Roosevelt in his first two terms, was the Vice Presidential nominee in 1940, and served during that third term of FDR, but then dropped for Senator Harry Truman in 1944.

So only Wallace and Shriver ran for Vice President, without having been elected.

It seems time to add Susan Rice to that list, as she is extremely qualified and experienced in foreign policy, which is being underrated as a significant factor, due to all of the domestic turmoil going on in the nation in 2020.

Her strength is also that she knows Joe Biden very well, has worked well with him under Barack Obama, and their friendship is significant.

Harris has critics who think her debate challenges to Joe Biden should eliminate her, but she is also very qualified and would be a good choice.

Either way, both ladies are born in 1964, and would be 56 upon taking the oath, the ideal average age for Presidents historically.

So either one of these two women is the best qualified, and my projection is that Biden will pick Susan Rice, so we shall see how accurate I am on this prediction in the next few days to week.

The Best Candidates To Be Vice President For Joe Biden

Ronald Leave a comment

Within the next few weeks, Joe Biden will be selecting his Vice Presidential running mate, with the strong possibility that the woman he chooses could be the next President after Biden, whether by succession, as Biden would be the oldest first term President on Inauguration Day, or by election after Biden has left the Presidency.

There has been much speculation about a very large number of potential choices, but this author believes that three candidates stand out above all others in their credentials.

My first choice, and preferred, is former National Security Adviser and earlier Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice. She has more foreign policy experience than any other potential candidate. She would be 56 on Inauguration Day, the precise average age of all Presidents when combined together, and she has worked for many years with Joe Biden, and gets along very well with him.

The two together would be a fantastic team on foreign policy and national security, an area badly damaged by Donald Trump, and an area not as much paid attention to by many, but really significant. Her major liability may be that she has never been elected to any political office, but she has tons of experience under Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

My second choice, which is speculated about as a “dream”, would be former First Lady Michelle Obama, who would be 57 by Inauguration Day. Many observers feel that if she was the choice of Joe Biden, it would guarantee victory in November.

Michelle Obama is much admired and respected, is very intelligent, and knows a lot from being the wife of the 44th President, but she also has never been elected to office, although that is not a requirement. However, she has given no hint of interest, and it highly unlikely that she would accept the Vice Presidency, but she would be a fantastic choice.

My third choice is California Senator Kamala Harris, who would be 56 on Inauguration Day, with the interesting point that all three ladies in this group were born in 1964, with Obama in January, Harris in October, and Rice in November.

Harris has been a Senator for four years, and earlier was District Attorney of San Francisco for seven years, and California Attorney General for six years, before being elected to the Senate in 2016. Being an elected official who campaigned for President, she has more controversies about her career in law enforcement and her votes and viewpoints as a US Senator than does Rice or Obama, but she would be an inspiring choice, often called the “female Barack Obama”.

We shall see if one of these three is the nominee, but this author and blogger feels all three are way above the competition, and whoever is selected will play a major role in the future of American government!

The Best African American Female Vice Presidential Choice For Joe Biden

Ronald Leave a comment

The African American Washington Post columnist Jonathan Capehart today published a piece, in which he discussed four prominent African American female contenders to be Joe Biden’s Vice Presidential running mate.

Capehart wrote about Georgia former state legislator Stacey Abrams; Orlando, Florida Congresswoman Val Demings; former National Security Adviser and United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice; and California Senator Kamala Harris.

Capehart made the case for all four women, and concluded that he believed that while all four are qualified to be Vice President, and potentially succeed to the Presidency, that Kamala Harris was his choice.

This blogger and author wishes to say that Capehart is correct, that Kamala Harris is the best qualified, and in my mind, the only other one of this group who is ready to take over the Presidency on a moment’s notice is Susan Rice with her foreign policy experience, but no elective experience.

Abrams is interesting, but has never been a leader on the state executive level, and Demings has her police chief background, but has only been a Congresswoman since 2017.

So assuming that Joe Biden decides to pick a woman of color, it makes the most sense to select Kamala Harris.

If however, he decides to avoid race as a factor, then his best choice is Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar.

The odds seem good one of these Senators will be the ultimate Vice Presidential choice for Joe Biden.

Is The Influence Of National Security Adviser John Bolton Declining?

Ronald Leave a comment

National Security Adviser John Bolton, a true “hawk” on foreign policy, and one of the major culprits in bringing on the Iraq War, and known to be an advocate of war with Iran, seems to have been sidelined by Donald Trump.

After Trump came within ten minutes of bombing Iran over a shooting down of an American drone, but pulling back, the star of John Bolton seems to have been sent into space, so to speak.

Bolton was not present when Trump met Kim Jong Un of North Korea at the DMZ between North Korea and South Korea, and instead had been sent on a mission to Mongolia, which seems like being sent into space, ironically.

It would be great if Bolton was fired by Donald Trump!

The fact that Trump seems at times to be a bluster bully with words, but not actions, is, of course good, but it still destabilizes American foreign policy.

In any case, it could be that John Bolton may be shown the exit soon, and let us hope for that.

11 Democrats, Non-Southerners, Who Became Republicans Over The Past Half Century

Ronald Leave a comment

It is a well known phenomenon that a massive number of Southern Democratic politicians switched to the Republican Party in the years and decades after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 under the administration of President Lyndon B. Johnson.

But it would be instructive to trace those Democrats, in their younger days, who were not Southerners, who made the switch from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party.

Following is a list of the more prominent such examples, numbering eleven.

In the early 1960s, actor Ronald Reagan, who had been a liberal Democrat and union leader in his younger days, became a Republican, influenced by his wife Nancy’s father, and soon was recruited by Southern California businessmen to run for Governor, and that was the beginning of an amazing transformation in views.

Donald Trump originally was a Democrat, and contributed to New York City and State Democrats, became an Independent, then went back to the Democrats, and finally allied himself with the Republican Party in 2011 and after.

Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor of New York City, started off as a Democrat, and worked for the Robert F. Kennedy campaign in 1968, and voted for the 1972 Democratic Presidential nominee, Senator George McGovern, before becoming an Independent, and then a Republican.

Elizabeth Dole was a Democrat who worked for Lyndon B. Johnson, but later became a Republican in 1975, married Senator Bob Dole, and was a cabinet member twice, sought the Presidential nomination herself, and then was a Senator from North Carolina from 2003-2009 as a Republican.

Vice President Mike Pence left the Democratic Party in the early 1980s, after having supported Jimmy Carter in the 1980 Presidential election, and ran for the House of Representatives and Governorship of Indiana as a Republican.

Condoleezza Rice, left the Democratic party in 1982, and became the National Security Adviser and Secretary of State under Republican President George W. Bush.

Ben (Nighthorse) Campbell left the Democratic Party in 1995, while a US Senator from Colorado, and became a Republican.

Susana Martinez left the Democratic Party in 1995, and later served as Governor of New Mexico as a Republican.

Norm Coleman left the Democratic Party in 1996, while serving as Mayor of St. Paul, Minnesota, and later was a Senator from Minnesota for one term as a Republican.

Herman Badillo, former Bronx, New York Congressman, left the Democrats in 1996, and identified with the Republican Party.

Michael Bloomberg left the Democratic Party in 2001 before running for Mayor of New York City as a Republican, just as Rudy Giuliani had done before him.

Trump Cabinet Members: One Disaster After Another, From Tom Price To Ronny Jackson!

Ronald Leave a comment

The Trump Cabinet is one disaster after another.

Trump has dismissed many people behind him, both those in his Cabinet, and others in positions of authority, and others have come under fire, but are still there.

Rex Tillerson, Tom Price, David Shulkin are gone, along with Reince Priebus, Michael Flynn, H. R. McMaster, and Sean Spicer, and Scott Pruitt, Ryan Zinke, Jeff Sessions, Steve Mnuhcin, Betsy DeVos, Wilbur Ross, Ben Carson, Mick Mulvaney, and now Ronny Jackson are under scrutiny. Even John Kelly, the second White House Chief of Staff, has lost his reputation serving Trump.

There has been more turnover, including the White House Chief of Staff, National Security Adviser, and White House Press Secretary, than under any President after just 15 months.

The above mentioned list of present cabinet officers, as well as Ronny Jackson, the White House Physician now nominated to be Secretary of Veterans Affairs, have had issues of corruption and malfeasance, and are under a cloud that may force all of them to leave the administration over time.

Just about the only Trump advisers who are seen as “clean” are Secretary of Defense James Mattis and United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley.

Richard Nixon, Warren G. Harding, Ulysses S. Grant, Ronald Reagan, and George W. Bush all had a substantial number of people who served in their administrations forced out, or indicted, convicted, and sentenced to prison, but it looks as if Donald Trump is presiding over the most disgraceful group of advisers we have ever seen in any Presidency!

Marist Public Opinion Poll: 83 Percent Democrats, 76 Percent Independent, 57 Percent Republican–Let Mueller Investigation Move Forward

Ronald 2 Comments

At a dangerous moment in the probe of Donald Trump by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, as Trump unravels more than ever before, and has fired so many people on his staff, greater than any President after one year in office, a Marist poll demonstrates that the American people want the Mueller investigation to move forward to completion.

It is now ten months since Mueller was appointed by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to investigate the firing of FBI Head James Comey, and it is clear that evidence has been gathered leading to convictions and indictments already, that show widespread corruption in the Trump Presidency.

Republicans in Congress have been unwilling to pass legislation to insure that the investigation will move forward, believing Donald Trump will not fire Mueller, but the feeling is that any day, that could happen.

Based on the Marist Poll–83 percent Democrats, 76 percent Independent, 57 percent Republican–it seems as if there would be a storm fire if Trump went ahead and fired Mueller, similar to what happened when Richard Nixon fired Archibald Cox in 1973. One would think there would be a movement, even by many Republicans, towards impeachment.

The problem is that even impeachment support by Republicans would take time, and an unhinged Donald Trump, with a crazy National Security Adviser, John Bolton, advocating “regime change” on North Korea and Iran, could take us into one or two massive wars that could cause tremendous loss of life, and possible nuclear war. Also, the “tariff wars” Trump is promoting could cause a world wide Great Depression or Great Recession at the least.

So public opinion is on the side of backing Mueller over Trump, but no matter how one looks at it, America and the world at large is in the midst of a constitutional crisis, which seems much more severe than Richard Nixon and Watergate 45 years ago!