Dubious Picks
Unless this is part of another cunning negotiation tactic, the Donald's recent cabinet nominations have to be considered highly dubious, to say the least. First he promoted Mike Pompeo from his CIA post to the position of Secretary of State - removing the eminently reasonable, and as we believe widely underappreciated Rex Tillerson. Pompeo is mainly known for sharing Trump's irrational dislike of the nuclear deal with Iran, which was pretty much the only laudable policy measure Obama implemented in his otherwise disastrous 8-year reign.
"Trump-Whisperer" (h/t Economist magazine) Mike Pompeo. To his hawkishness on Iran we would note the following: invading or bombing the country is pretty much an insane pipe dream (and it would achieve nothing but even more regional chaos); reimposing sanctions only fortifies the regime's position, which can then blame all economic troubles on foreign enemies - besides, it is well-known that the population rallies to support the mullahs whenever they can credibly point the finger at foreign interference. Iran's citizens are definitely hurt by economic sanctions, but they won't blame their own government - instead they will increasingly come to hate the West. What else does Pompeo support? Here's a brief list of things he has reportedly said in recent years: he is for "military action in Syria to remove Assad" (brilliant, get rid of one of the few remaining secular political leaders in the region - who does he think will take over from Assad? Peaceful professional head-choppers?); he's perfectly fine with NSA mass surveillance (as we have often pointed out, there is no reason whatsoever to trust that this is not misused, and even if one naively assumes so, it paves the way for a future tyranny); along similar lines he demanded the "death sentence for Edward Snowden" (who we think is a hero for informing the world at a huge cost to himself about the unlawful mass surveillance Pompeo loves so much); and lastly, he thinks the Guantanamo Bay torture station should definitely remain in operation (of course Obama failed to close it down as promised). The guy is a neo-con warmonger/ Deep State swamp creature. Trump was allegedly impressed by his swagger.
If you wondered whether the Donald could actually top this grievous misstep in personnel decisions by picking an even worse critter for yet another important post, consider the question answered: yes, he can! We don't know under which rock this zombie was hiding, but he was undoubtedly as surprised as we were that anyone would ever call on his services again - especially a president who is on record for stating that he thinks the Iraq war was one of the most moronic ideas of the century (which is true).
We are of course referring to the Donald's new national security advisor Yosemite Sam, who is without a doubt a good sight worse than the martially inclined weighed-down-by-bling mil-bureaucrat with the colorful nomen-est-omen designation "Mad Dog" Mattis he is about to replace. John Bolton as Sam is otherwise known was one of the most vociferous advocates of the Iraq calamity, spreading half-baked propaganda and bald-faced lies with highly polished professional aplomb as we recall.
Naturally, every single prediction he ever made about the course and effects of the then upcoming invasion soon turned out to be 100% wrong, which for unfathomable reasons ensured that he remained a sought-after TV pundit afterward. It was as though nothing untoward had happened, or as if it could somehow be hoped that his predictive record would magically improve. Plot twist: didn't happen.
When he says "whoa!", he means "whoa!". We concede that nominating Yosemite Sam as UN ambassador way back when was quite a funny trolling attempt by former president GW Bush. Maybe the Donald had something similar in mind ("whom should I pick as national security advisor to make sure the chattering classes all over the world erupt in fresh waves of righteous indignation?"). If that was the goal, we can hereby report that he succeeded beyond expectations (New York Times: "Yes, John Bolton Really Is That Dangerous" - of course this is the same NYT that was itself relentlessly beating the drums for war with Iraq as we recall; does anyone remember Judith Miller? More on her here - apparently even the left denounces her these days). Still, the NYT article starts with quite a funny line: "The good thing about John Bolton, President Trump's new national security adviser, is that he says what he thinks. The bad thing is what he thinks." - that just about sums it up.
The problem is of course that Trump-Whisperers like Pompeo and Bolton seem to make it a lot more likely that the Donald will "act presidential and bloody his hands in a little war". That was almost verbatim the turn of phrase used by the media when they gushed over the first killings in far-away lands ordered by their hero Obama.
On the campaign trail Trump was a bit inconsistent with respect to his foreign policy views, but overall he seemed a lot less enamored by military confrontation than any of his would-be competitors for the job of president. He has of course remained inconsistent ever since, but so far he has acted with restraint in actual practice (the Syria missile attack was just for show in our opinion).
However, let us not forget that even the Donald's countless enemies in the lame-stream media are practically getting on-air orgasms as soon as the missiles are flying. Remotely kill a bunch of people living in some third world pile of rubble who can't shoot back and earn instant forgiveness! The media will love you unconditionally!
The question is of course: whether anyone wants to be loved by a despicable war shill and known liar such as this particular TV presenter... but this tool is of course not the only cheerleader for war in the US media.
One wonders if the Donald will feel the need to be showered with praise from the war shills brigade, or if he will continue to resist the temptation. His recent staffing decisions make one fear the worst, but as bizarre as it may appear at first glance, it could well be that he merely wants to have credible sound and fury at his disposal rather than planning for actual war.
Just consider how he trolled North Korean Dear Leader Kim via Twitter, threatening him with his "bigger nuclear button". The whole world was appropriately aghast - and yet, as soon as the governments of the two halves of Korea started talking to each other, Trump immediately gave them his placet - also via Twitter! So maybe his hiring of Yosemite Sam is also just for show - we will probably soon find out one way or the other.
"Stranger, you just yupped yourself into a hole in the head! No more gentleman's stuff, from now on you fights my way - dirty!"