President Trump Installs Loyalist In Top Intelligence Post On The National Security Council

REUTERS/Chris Helgren. Reuters

Politico: Trump loyalist installed in top intelligence post on National Security Council

Michael Ellis, a deputy to White House lawyer John Eisenberg, started in the role on Monday.

A White House lawyer and former counsel to the House Intelligence Committee under Devin Nunes has been named senior director for intelligence on the National Security Council, the latest instance of President Donald Trump elevating a trusted loyalist to control the intelligence community.

Michael Ellis, a deputy to White House lawyer John Eisenberg, started in the role on Monday, according to a senior administration official and a former national security official. Ellis left the counsel’s office, so he won’t be dual-hatted with his new job.

The office of the director for intelligence serves as the day-to-day connective tissue between the intelligence community and the White House. Sensitive information coming in from the intelligence agencies will go to that office, especially if it is in hard copy form. The office also coordinates covert action activities between the White House and the intelligence community, and it’s where the NSC server is housed that stores the most sensitive classified information.

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Update #1: Trump installs loyalist in key White House intelligence post (CNN)
Update #2: White House lawyer cited in Vindman testimony named National Security Council intelligence chief (Washington Examiner)

WNU Editor: Considering the history between President Trump and the intelligence community, it should surprise no one that he wants people who are loyal to him in these top posts.

National Security Adviser Confirms That Cuts Are Underway At The White House's National Security Council

Robert O’Brien says the NSC will be down between 115 to 120 staffers by the end of this week. pic.twitter.com/FpleaBFh85

— Josh Cremeans “DirtyTruth” (@AKA_RealDirty) February 12, 2020

Zero Hedge: NSC Chief O'Brien Confirms Staffer Bloodbath After Vindmans Expelled

National Security Adviser told a room full of Atlantic Council attendees on Tuesday that significant cuts were under way at the leak-prone White House National Security Council, confirming a Monday report in the Washington Examiner that up to 70 positions would be cut.

While O'Brien pitched it as a return to "a manageable size," he didn't mention what the Examiner reported - namely, that most of the cuts would be Obama-era holdovers such as anti-Trump impeachment witness Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, 44, and his twin brother Yevgeny, who were fired from the NSC last week and escorted out of the White House by security.

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WNU Editor: National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien does have a point that American foreign policy is not run (and should not be run) by Lieutenant Colonels .... ‘We are not a banana republic’: National security adviser defends Vindman dismissals (Politico). So this begs an answer .... they were there for three years, so who was running foreign policy, at least in regards to Ukraine.

Report: 70 US National Security Council Positions To Be Eliminated

President Donald Trump is joined by national security advisers on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019, to monitor developments in the U.S. Special Operations forces raid that took out Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. (Shealah Craighead/The White House)

Paul Bedard, Washington Examiner: Bigger than Vindman: Trump scrubs 70 Obama holdovers from NSC

President Trump is making good on his promises to “drain the swamp” and cut Obama-era holdovers from his staffs, especially the critical and recently controversial National Security Council.

Officials confirmed that Trump and national security adviser Robert O’Brien have cut 70 positions inherited from former President Barack Obama, who had fattened the staff to 200.

Many were loaners from other agencies and have been sent back. Others left government work.

The NSC, which is the president’s personal staff, was rocked when a “whistleblower” leveled charges that led to Trump’s impeachment.

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WNU Editor: Most of this staff will be reassigned to where they came from. What I do not understand is why did it take 3 years to finally make these decisions.

Major Cuts To The U.S. National Security Council Are Expected This Week

Trump speaks to reporters with US hostage negotiator Robert O'Brien after he named O'Brien as his fourth White House national security adviser [Tom Brenner/Reuters]

CNN: Major cuts to National Security Council staff expected as soon as next week, sources say

National security adviser Robert O'Brien is expected to make major cuts to the National Security Council staff as early as next week, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN.

Some people with knowledge of the impending change previously said once President Donald Trump's impeachment trial had concluded, O'Brien was expected to oust about a dozen or so officials as part of an effort to streamline the NSC, which critics charge has become too large.

O'Brien has largely been downsizing the NSC by attrition and getting staffers detailed to the council from other departments to return earlier than planned to their home agencies, but one of the sources told CNN it looks like the final phase will involve more direct firings and cuts.

"So it's bloated. We're going to bring it back to a size that's manageable and efficient. And look, the folks who are there, they really need to want to serve the President," O'Brien told Fox News' Laura Ingraham Tuesday night.

"What I said when I came to the NSC is that I would drastically downsize it," he added.

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Update: US National Security Council Expected to Get Downsized Next Week - Reports (Sputnik)

WNU Editor: National security adviser Robert O'Brien has been making it very clear that he was going to downsize the NSC. This should surprise no one.

White House's NSC Senior Director For European and Russian Affairs Placed On Administrative Leave Pending Investigation

Andrew Peek, the NSC’s senior director for European and Russian affairs, was reportedly escorted from the White House grounds on Friday

Daily Mail: Donald Trump's top Russia expert on National Security Council is 'escorted off the White House grounds amid a security investigation'

* Andrew Peek is on leave from NSC pending a security investigation, reports say
* Peek is the senior director for European and Russian affairs on the NSC
* He was escorted from the White House grounds on Friday, sources say
* Peek’s two predecessors testified in the House impeachment inquiry

President Donald Trump's top Russia expert on the National Security Counsel is reportedly on leave pending a security investigation.

Andrew Peek, the NSC’s senior director for European and Russian affairs, was escorted from the White House grounds on Friday, two people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

Peek had been in the NSC role for just two months, after most recently working as a deputy assistant secretary of state with responsibility for Iran and Iraq.

He replaced Tim Morrison, who left the position after testifying in the House impeachment inquiry.

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WNU Editor: He was escorted from the White House by security. That .... to put it bluntly .... is never good.

More News On The White House's NSC Senior Director For European and Russian Affairs Being Placed On Administrative Leave

Trump's newest Russia adviser, Andrew Peek, leaves post: report -- The Hill
NSC Senior Director for European and Russian Affairs placed on administrative leave -- CNN
White House's top Russia official put on leave pending investigation -- NBC
White House national security official on leave pending investigation -- Axios
US Director on Russian Affairs at NSC Leaves Post Amid Pending Investigation - Reports -- Sputnik

The Purge Of The U.S. National Security Council Has Begun

Trump speaks to reporters with US hostage negotiator Robert O'Brien after he named O'Brien as his fourth White House national security adviser [Tom Brenner/Reuters]

Washington Times: NSC chief slashing Obama's 'bloated' staff to create efficient, tight-lipped White House operation

The White House National Security Council staff is being downsized sharply in a bid to improve efficiency within the policy coordinating body by consolidating positions and cutting staff.

A second, unspoken thrust of the overhaul is a hoped-for end to what many critics see as a string of politically damaging, unauthorized disclosures of sensitive information. Leaks of President Trump’s conversations with foreign leaders and other damaging disclosures likely originated with anti-Trump officials in the White House who stayed over from the Obama administration, according to several current and former White House officials.

White House National Security Adviser Robert C. O’Brien is leading the NSC reform effort. He revealed in a recent interview with The Washington Times that 40 to 45 NSC staff officials were sent back in recent months to the agencies where they originally worked, with more likely to be moved out.

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Update: Obama's NSC Holdovers Finally Booted After Three Years Of Non-Stop Leaks (Zero Hedge)

WNU Editor: President Kennedy's NSC had a policy making staff of 12. But when President Obama left the White House in 2016 there were 450!?!?!? These cutbacks should have been done in the first week of the Trump Presidency. But President Trump was elected without the support of the Republican establishment, and not having loyal people to fill in these positions has obviously taken a long time.

President Trump's Decision To Shrink The NSC Staff Draws Opposition

U.S. President Donald Trump faces reporters with U.S. hostage negotiator Robert O'Brien after he named O'Brien as his fourth White House national security adviser at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California, U.S., September 18, 2019. REUTERS/Tom Brenner

Politico: Trump’s plan to shrink NSC staff draws fire

The changes have long been in the works, but they're happening amid an impeachment probe that has deepened the president's distrust of his staff.

White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien is moving quickly to shrink and reshape his staff – rattling some nerves already frayed by the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.

The changes at the National Security Council are both sweeping and minute: several dozen policy roles will be eliminated as staffers return to their home agencies or leave government in the coming two months; at least two NSC divisions are being phased out completely; a third, meanwhile, has been handed off to a separate White House-based group.

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WNU Editor: There were too many leaks coming out of the administration on foreign policy decisions and telephone calls that only stopped when President Trump started to limit the access that the NSC had to his decisions and discussions. It looks like the NSC undermined itself.

U.S. National Security Council To Be Gutted

President Donald Trump listens to his newly announced White House national security adviser Robert O'Brien in Los Angeles, California, on Sept. 18, 2019. File photo by REUTERS/Tom Brenner

Zero Hedge: National Security Council Gutted As Establishment Loyalists Undermine Trump

One week after President Trump ordered a serious reduction in staff at the National Security Council, National security adviser Robert O'Brien has announced the size and scope of the cuts, promotions, and other organizational matters following the departure of John Bolton.

Speaking at a late Thursday town hall event, O'Brien said he's aiming to eliminate approximately half of the 178 staff members at the NSC over the next 15 months, according to PBS - while Politico has the details on promotions.

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Update #1: White House plans to cut foreign policy staff by nearly half (PBS).
Update #2: Trump's new national security adviser shakes up staff (Politico)

WNU editor: Under previous administrations the National Security Council had a staff of about 100. Under President Obama this staff ballooned to about 400. President Trump currently has about 180, and they have certainly not served him well. White House national security adviser Robert O'Brien is going to clean up house, something that should have been done at the beginning of President Trump's Presidency.

President Trump Orders 'Substantial' Cuts In National Security Council Staff

The U.S. flag flies in a dawn breeze on top of the White House before the start of the midterm election in Washington, U.S. November 6, 2018. REUTERS/Chris Helgren. Reuters

Bloomberg: Trump Orders Cut to National Security Staff After Whistle-Blower

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump has ordered a substantial reduction in the staff of the National Security Council, according to five people familiar with the plans, as the White House confronts an impeachment inquiry touched off by a whistle-blower complaint related to the agency’s work.

Some of the people described the staff cuts as part of a White House effort to make its foreign policy arm leaner under new National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien.

The request to limit the size of the NSC staff was conveyed to senior agency officials by acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney and O’Brien this week. The whistle-blower complaint, focused on Trump’s conduct in a July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has been followed by damaging reports on the president’s private conversations with other world leaders.

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WNU Editor: The media is saying that these cuts are due to leaks from the National Security Council. That may be the case. The Trump administration has been plagued by leaks since Day One, and the latest ones are from the Security Council staff. Will these cuts have an impact when it comes to leaks, probably not. But I think these cuts are more a reflection on what National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien wants (i.e. people that he trusts on the staff), and not the current media spin.

Update: This agency is bloated .... there were 100 staff members during the Clinton and Bush administrations, but swelled to 400 full-time members under President Obama (Instapundit).

President Trump Orders 'Substantial' Cuts In National Security Council Staff

Trump Orders 'Substantial' Cut in National Security Council Staff: Bloomberg -- US News and World Report/Reuters
Trump orders 'substantial' cut in National Security Council staff: Bloomberg -- Yahoo News
Trump Administration Calls for Smaller National Security Council Staff Following Whistleblower Complaint -- Newsweek
Trump has ordered national security staff cut: report -- The Hill
Report: Trump Orders Substantial Cut in National Security Council Staff -- VOA/Reuters
Swamp Draining Begins: Trump Orders Cuts To Security Council Amid CIA Whistleblower "Coup" -- Zero Hedge

Can President Trump's National Security Council Handle A Real Crisis?

YouTube

Loren Dejonge Schuulman, Defense One/The Atlantic: Can Trump’s National Security Council Handle a Real Crisis?

The people in the Situation Room inevitably neglect basics that will keep them, and the rest of us, alive. In this White House, the risks are especially high.

It’s hard to believe, but this administration has not experienced a genuine national-security crisis in more than six months in office.

Yes, missile tests in North Korea and a boiling regional spat in the Middle East are spiking blood pressure across DC, but the most nightmare-inducing risks have originated in the president’s own social-media rhetoric, not the crises themselves. Recent turmoil within the National Security Council has been almost entirely generated by its own members, some of them newly former. While the people in the West Wing protest and sputter in response, let me put it this way: Have they moved their entire professional wardrobe to their file cabinet? Have they purchased underwear on Amazon because they don’t have time for laundry? Have they resignedly given their mothers the number to the White House Situation Room? Are they working late due to physical threats or just because the president tweeted again? Don’t worry, they’ll get their turn, and North Korea and others look more than willing to assist.

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WNU Editor: On paper .... President Trump has chosen people who have a lot of experience in handling crisis .... Generals who experienced war and executives who know how to run large companies. With this experience you would think that they would know how to handle a real crisis. But truth be told .... we will never know until that day happens, and when one looks at the world today .... that day may come sooner than what we think.

Another Change In President Trump's National Security Team

Kathleen Troia ''K.T.'' McFarland arrives at Trump Tower in New York, U.S., January 3, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Segar

Bloomberg: McFarland to Exit White House as McMaster Consolidates Power

* Former Fox News commentator will become envoy to Singapore
* Trump’s second national security advisor making his mark

K. T. McFarland has been asked to step down as deputy National Security Advisor to President Donald Trump after less than three months and will become U.S. ambassador to Singapore, according to a person familiar with White House personnel moves.

The departure of the 65-year-old former Fox News commentator comes as Trump’s second National Security Advisor, Lt General H.R. McMaster, puts his own stamp on the National Security Council after taking over in February following the firing of Michael Flynn.

It follows a reorganization of the NSC in the past week to remove Stephen Bannon, Trump’s chief strategist and senior counselor, from the principals committee.

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WNU Editor: Having 3 top national security officials removed  within 3 months (Michael Flynn, K.T. McFarland, and the removal from the NSC last week of Steve Bannon) .... meets my definition that this is a purge.

More News On The Ousting Of Deputy National Security Adviser K.T. McFarland

Trump national security adviser KT McFarland 'to step down' -- BBC
Deputy national security adviser K.T. McFarland ousted: report -- The Hill
Trump national security aide McFarland may become envoy to Singapore: official -- Reuters
Third Trump ally KT McFarland removed from National Security Council -- The Independent
K.T. McFarland to leave White House amid NSC shakeup -- USA Today

White House Fires Senior National Security Council Aide After Criticising President Trump

Politico: White House dismisses NSC aide after harsh criticism of Trump

Official complained about the president at a closed-door think tank gathering.

The White House abruptly dismissed a senior National Security Council aide on Friday after receiving reports that he had publicly laced into the president and his senior aides, including son-in-law Jared Kushner and daughter Ivanka Trump at an event hosted by a Washington think tank.

The aide, Craig Deare, was serving as the NSC's senior director for Western Hemisphere Affairs. Earlier in the week, at a private, off-the-record roundtable hosted by the Woodrow Wilson Center for a group of about two dozen scholars, Deare harshly criticized the president and his chief strategist Steve Bannon and railed against the dysfunction paralyzing the Trump White House, according to a source familiar with the situation.

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WNU Editor: He was recruited to his position by recently fired National Security adviser Michael Flynn. I guess he was pissed with what had happened to Michael Flynn.

More News On The White House Firing A Senior National Security Council Aide After He Criticised President Trump

White House Fires Security Aide for Criticizing Trump Administration -- Wall Street Journal
NSC Official Fired After Reportedly Criticizing Trump, Aides -- Bloomberg
National Security Council aide dismissed after criticizing Trump: report -- The Hill
White House fires senior National Security Council aide who criticized President Trump and his administration -- NYDaily News

Critics Go Apoplectic On President Trump's Decision To Install His Top Political Adviser On The National Security Council Principal's Committee (Updated)

CNN: Bannon role on National Security Council under fire

(CNN)President Donald Trump further reorganized the National Security Council on Monday after he came under sharp criticism for ousting the country's most senior intelligence and military officials as regular members of the Principals Committee -- and installing one of his top political advisers on the key panel.

On Monday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer announced that Trump will reinstate the director of the CIA as a regular Principals Committee member. But the President will keep his chief strategist, Stephen Bannon, as a regular committee member -- a move that came under fire -- while the director of national intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff will not be regular attendees.

The committee is a Cabinet-level group of agencies focused on national security that was established by President George H. W. Bush in 1989.

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WNU Editor: Is a media double standard at play on the Steve Bannon appointment? .... Donald Trump’s National Security Council reorganization copies previous GOP president (Washington Times).

More News On The Growing Criticisms Of President Trump's Decision To Install His Top Political Adviser On The National Security Council Principal's Committee

White House defends Steve Bannon’s role on National Security Council -- USA Today
White House Defends Trump’s NSC Reorganization -- US News and World Report
White House balks at flap over National Security Council: ‘Utter nonsense’ -- Washington Times
Bannon Is Given Security Role Usually Held for Generals -- New York Times
Trump’s dangerous move to politicize the National Security Council -- Michael R. Ortiz, The Hill
White House press secretary goes on lengthy rant in attempt to clarify changes to national security team -- Pamela Engel, Business Insider
The White House Just Charted a Dangerous Course With NSC Machinations -- John R. Schindler, Observer

President Trump Reorganises The National Security Council. Adds His Chief Strategist To The Council

Steve Bannon attends as Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office on Saturday. Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

NPR: With National Security Council Shakeup, Steve Bannon Gets A Seat At The Table

President Trump has reorganized the National Security Council by elevating his chief strategist, Steve Bannon, and demoting the director of National Intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Bannon will join the NSC's principals committee, the top interagency group for discussing national security. The National Security Council is the staff inside the White House that coordinates decision-making by the president on such matters, in coordination with outside departments including the State Department and the Pentagon.

It's an unusual decision, NPR's Mara Liasson reports. "David Axelrod, for instance, who had a similar job as Bannon in the Obama administration, never sat in on principals meetings," she added. When such figures seen as part of the political wing of the White House have participated in broader National Security Council meetings, it has sparked sharp criticism from the national security establishment.

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WNU Editor: The White House defends its decision .... Trump Administration Defends Bannon’s Role on Security Council (NYT). More here .... Trump chief of staff: defense officials not off NSC after Bannon move (The Guardian). What's my take .... national security, wars, defense and intelligence policies .... these are always issues that have been politicised by every President in the past. The optics of putting chief strategist Steve Bannon on the NSC certainly do not look good .... but in reality .... politics is what drives many of the national security decisions that comes out from the Council. As to reports that the Joint Chief and other senior intel officers have been left out .... this is a mistake .... but since this announcement the White House Chief of Staff is now saying that these officials have not been left out of the NSC.

More News On President Trump Reorganising The National Security Council And Addsing His Chief Strategist To The Council

Bannon Is Given Security Role Usually Held for Generals -- NYT
White House backs Steve Bannon attending national-security meetings -- AP
Trump adds Steve Bannon to national security team -- CBS
Trump gives National Security Council seat to ex-Breitbart chief Steve Bannon -- The Guardian
Trump gives Stephen Bannon National Security Council role -- USA Today
Trump National Security Council Shake-Up Elevates Stephen Bannon -- Fortune
The man behind Trump? Still Steve Bannon -- Politico

A Large Number Of U.S. National Security Council Foreign Policy Experts Are Handing In Their Resignations

President-elect Donald Trump and retired General Michael Flynn speak at an event.  Photo: Reuters

The Guardian: White House faces exodus of foreign policy experts ahead of Trump's arrival

An unusual number of the National Security Council’s more junior officials are looking to depart, due to concerns about incoming advisor Michael Flynn.

The White House is struggling to prevent a crippling exodus of foreign policy staffers eager to leave before the arrival of the Trump administration, according to current and former officials.

The top level officials in the National Security Council (NSC) are political appointees who have to submit resignations and leave in a normal transition. The rest of the 400 NSC staff are career civil servants on secondment from other departments. An unusual number of these more junior officials are now looking to depart.

Many are concerned by a proliferation of reports about the incoming national security adviser, Michael Flynn. On Wednesday the Washington Post reported that Flynn had improperly shared classified information with foreign military officers. On the same day, CNN reported that the former DIA chief had this week deleted a tweet he had sent out a few days before the election that linked to a fake news story suggesting Hillary Clinton took part in crimes against children.

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WNU Editor: President-Elect Trump and the incoming national security adviser, Michael Flynn made it very clear during the campaign that they were/are disappointed on how the National Security Council has been run for the past few years. From the perspective of these NSC officials .... many who disagree with President-elect Trump's policies on everything from the use of torture to rules of engagement .... the "ship is sinking" for them and they want to get out before they are replaced ... or worse .... implement policies that they disagree with.

Is The National Security Council Too Big And Too Activist On Military Operations?

President Barack Obama, center, Vice President Joe Biden, left, and Defense Secretary Ash Carter sit together at the Pentagon, Dec. 14, 2015, as they meet with the National Security Council about the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL. DoD photo by Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Adrian Cadiz

Colin Clark, Defense One: NSC Staff Too Big, Too Activist: Top Former Generals, Officials

WASHINGTON: The Senate and House Armed Services committees’ push to review the foundational law underpinning today’s US military, known as Goldwater-Nichols, was given a boost today by a group of top former generals and mostly Democratic Pentagon officials.

Their biggest takeaway: the National Security Council is too big and takes activist positions on military operations instead of mediating the interagency process. Breaking D readers are familiar with this problem. In addition to those problems, identified by the first panel at the Center for Strategic and International Studies this morning, a group of former generals and Democratic added their authority to a letter (which appears below) calling for greater efficiency and effectiveness in the national security process and the Pentagon’s command structure.

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WNU Editor: President Obama is a lame duck right now .... there is going to be no major reorganization of the NSC this year, and it will be an issue that the next President will have to deal with.

Why Is The U.S. National Security Council Staff Meeting A Radical Cleric Who Supports Suicide Bombers, Hitler, And Jihad In Syria?

Bin Bayyah (2nd L) released this photo on his website, showing the June 13 meeting with Obama administration officials including Gayle Smith (2nd R) and Rashad Hussain (4th L)

EXCLUSIVE: Deputy Of Banned Cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi Who Endorses Palestinian Suicide Bombers Had White House Meeting With National Security Council Staff -- Daily Mail

* The UK and U.S. have banned Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who leads the anti-Israel International Union of Muslim Scholars.
* The Obama administration invited that group's VP, Abdallah bin Bayyah, to a private meeting on the day it announced support for Syria's rebels
* The organization ended its December 2012 board meeting by calling for the end of Israel and the return of its lands to the Palestinians
* Hours after MailOnline began inquiring with the National Security Council about its meeting with bin Bayyah, the cleric's website was edited to remove the claim that National Security Adviser Tom Donilon attended

The White House's National Security Council has confirmed that staffers held a June 13 meeting with Shaykh Abdallah bin Bayyah, an Islamist cleric who shares leadership of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, where he is vice-president and the terror supporter Yusuf al-Qaradawi is president.

The meeting occurred on the same day the Obama administration announced plans to arm Syria's rebel factions, in the wake of a determination that President Bashar al-Assad had used chemical weapons against his own people.

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Update #1: Exclusive: Banned Cleric's Outspoken Deputy Visits White House -- IPT
Update #2: Senior Obama administration officials met with radical Muslim preacher at White House -- Daily Caller

My Comment: The above picture is very revealing .... the NSC staff meeting a radical Islamist who praises Hitler, supports the persecution of Christians, supports Palestinian suicide bombers, and calls for Jihad against Hezbollah, Assad in Syria. So .... now we know who the NSC goes to when looking for advice and guidance on Middle Eastern/security issues.

National Security Structure Is Set

From The Washington Post:

Under Obama, Council Will Grow

President Obama's first presidential directive, outlining the organization of his national security structure, adds the attorney general, the secretaries of energy and homeland security, and the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations to the formal National Security Council.

The four-page directive sketches wide input to NSC meetings, providing for "regular" inclusion of senior trade, economic and science advisers.

The document puts national security adviser James L. Jones firmly in charge of setting the NSC agenda and communicating Obama's decisions to the others. Jones will determine when to call White House meetings of policymaking "principals" and will police implementation of assigned tasks.

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My Comment: A lot of chiefs ..... no indians. If this structure works, I will be surprised.