What We Know About Trump’s National Security Team (Video)

Update: Trump keeping 50 Obama administration officials (The Hill)

WNU Editor: There is going to be a realignment .... but how this is all going to be done has not been publicly spelled out.

President Obama's New National Security Team

 

The New National Security Team's Obama-Think -- CNN 

President Barack Obama's incoming national security team of John Kerry, Chuck Hagel and John Brennan is far more aligned with the president's way of thinking than the outgoing team. So says retired general Michael Hayden, who is a former Director of National Intelligence and former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.  Hayden appeared on CNN's State of the Union to talk about national security issues, along with retired general Stanley McChrystal. The similarity in outlook is a red flag to Hayden, especially compared to Obama's outgoing team of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and former Secretary of Defense and CIA Director Leon Panetta. Read more .... My Comment: A short but interesting discussion from Michael Hayden and Stanley McChrystal.

Who Will Be On Obama's New Foreign And Security Team

President Obama meets with former Secretary of State Colin Powell (l.) in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington in this file photograph. Jim Young/Reuters/File

Obama's New Foreign And Security Team: Could Colin Powell Be On It? -- Christian Science Monitor

With President Obama likely to begin his second term with a sharp domestic focus, he’ll need a trusted foreign and security team to handle sensitive, and pressing, global challenges.

Barack Obama’s reelection was barely sealed before some international voices began trumpeting how the president’s victory would mean a renewed American focus on foreign policy issues that languished during the campaign.

President Obama could now revive the search for a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, international Middle East envoy Tony Blair said. The US will be bolder now in pressing for a resolution of Syria’s deadly and dangerous civil war, some US allies, including Turkish officials, predicted.

Have these foreign friends heard of the “fiscal cliff”?

Read more ....

My Comment: Colin Powell will not be on this team .... nor any other Republican.

President Obama's National Security Team Is Now In Place

President Obama, followed by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Gen. Martin E. Dempsey at the White House on Monday. Philip Scott Andrews/The New York Times

Obama Wraps Up Reshaping of National Security Team -- New York Times

WASHINGTON — In announcing Monday that he would nominate Gen. Martin E. Dempsey to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, President Obama concluded a broad reshuffling of his national security team just as the administration is heading into a new debate over bringing American troops home from Afghanistan.

General Dempsey, who if confirmed by the Senate would take over from Adm. Mike Mullen as the nation’s highest ranking military officer, has not taken a public position on how many troops should be withdrawn starting in July, the date set by the president for beginning to reduce the United States military presence in Afghanistan.

Read more ....

My Comment: It is going to take me a while to get around the idea that General Petraeus now runs the CIA and General Odierno will head the U.S. Army .... but in general .... this reshaping of the National Security team holds no surprises.

Changes In America's Intelligence & Military Leadership -- News Roundup April 27, 2011

Gates To Leave Pentagon At End Of June, Officials Say -- FOX News

Defense Secretary Robert Gates plans to retire on June 30, a senior Pentagon official told Fox News -- a revelation that comes ahead of President Obama's announcement that CIA Director Leon Pannetta is replacing him as part of a broader shakeup in his national security team.

The White House hopes to have Panetta confirmed before Gates steps down, the official said.

Obama also plans to announce that Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, will replace Panetta as CIA director, Lt. Gen. John Allen will replace Petraeus and that diplomat Ryan Crocker will be the next U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan.

A senior defense official also told Fox News the president will "almost certainly" tap Gen. James Cartwright to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Cartwright is currently vice chairman.

The changes would probably take effect this summer.

Read more ....

More News On Changes In President Obama's Intelligence/Security/Military Team

Gates to leave Pentagon June 30: official -- AFP
A look at Obama's new national security team -- Seattle Times/AP
Obama sending Panetta to Pentagon, Petraeus to CIA -- Yahoo News/AP
Obama shakes up national security team -- Yahoo News/AFP
Obama to shake up security team, Panetta to Pentagon -- Yahoo News/Reuters
Obama to nominate CIA Director Leon Panetta as defense secretary -- Washington Post
Obama Set to Nominate Panetta at Defense, Petraeus at CIA -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Leon Panetta and David Petraeus given new roles in US security reshuffle -- The Guardian
Obama set to reshuffle national security team -- USA Today
Obama Chooses Deputy Commander in Florida to Replace Petraeus in Afghanistan -- FOX News

Leon Panetta’s top priority: Credibility -- Politico
New U.S. defense secretary to start July 1-official -- Reuters
Push for Pentagon cuts tops Panetta's agenda -- Yahoo News/AP
Panetta to bring discipline, savvy to Pentagon -- Reuters
Petraeus brings unique experience to expected CIA role -- CNN

As Petraeus exits, US interests in Afghanistan far from secured -- Christian Science Monitor
Leon Panetta choice signals defense cuts -- Politico
Cautious optimism for Panetta’s Pentagon -- DoD Buzz
US military musical chairs with Gen Petraeus to become head of CIA -- Toby Harnden, The Telegraph
Mixed reactions for Panetta-Petraeus Defense-CIA announcements -- Kyle Daly, Washington Independent

BREAKING: CIA Director Panetta To Be US Secretary of Defense, General Petraeus To Be CIA Director

General Petraeus and CIA Director Panetta. The Atlantic

CIA's Panetta To Head Pentagon, Petraeus To CIA -- Yahoo News/Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama plans to nominated CIA Director Leon Panetta as his new U.S. defense secretary and will replace him at the CIA with General David Petraeus, U.S. officials said on Wednesday.

The announcements are expected later this week. Obama is also to nominate veteran diplomat Ryan Crocker as the next U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan.

Read more ....

More News On Who The New CIA Director And Secretary Of Defense Will Be

Panetta, Petraeus, Allen, Crocker: President Obama Orders National Security Team Reshuffle -- ABC News
Petraeus and Panetta in Line for National Security Posts -- New York Times
Reports: Panetta will succeed Gates -- Seattle PI/Politico
Petraeus to lead CIA; Panetta moves to Pentagon -- AJC
Petraeus 'next head of CIA', Panetta to lead Pentagon -- BBC
Petraeus to head CIA, Panetta to lead Defense: reports -- AFP
AP sources: Obama likely to reunite veteran diplomat Ryan Crocker with Petraeus in Afghanistan -- Washington Post
Panetta Will Run Pentagon; Petraeus to Lead CIA -- The Atlantic
Obama picks Panetta for defense, Petraeus for CIA -- CNN
Sources: Petraeus to be nominated to head CIA -- MSNBC

More Speculation On What Changes President Obama Will Make On His National Security Team

President Barack Obama meets with his national security team on Afghanistan and Pakistan in the Situation Room of the White House, October 20, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Big Changes To Come On Obama's National Security Team -- CNN

Washington (CNN) -- The Obama administration is considering Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, as the next possible CIA director, an administration official confirms to CNN. The official would not be identified because no announcements have been made about upcoming personnel decisions.

The move would be just one of a complex shuffle set to take place through the rest of the year as key members of the president's national security team are set to depart, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who has long wanted to retired, and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, whose term is set to end this year.

CIA Director Leon Panetta is one of the people high on the list to replace Gates as defense chief, the official said.

Read more ....

My Comment: I have trouble seeing General Petraeus as the new CIA Director. His life and background is military .... not intelligence. But .... if the President asks you to serve a certain role (including being CIA Director) .... how can you say no. The same goes to CIA Director Panetta .... who does not strike me as a man who wants to be Defense Secretary and the political/bureaucratic battles that it would entail .... but if the President asks you to serve in a certain post .... how can you say no.

President Obama's National Security Team

Obama's Chess Masters -- Rolling Stone

The president has assembled a trusted circle of advisers to oversee all aspects of national security directly from the White House

Most evenings, as the workday winds down at the White House, a small group of aides to President Barack Obama gathers quietly to review the state of the world. It's safe to say that few Americans would recognize their names. Leading the group is James Jones, the four-star general whom Obama tapped as national security adviser after coming to rely on his counsel during the 2008 campaign. The three others — Mark Lippert, Denis McDonough and Greg Craig — made up the inner circle of Obama's national security team during the grueling two-year race for the presidency.

Read more ....

My Comment: They appear to be an impressive group .... will they have an impact on policy .... I guess we will found out very soon.

President-Elect Obama Completes His National Security Team

U.S. President-elect Barack Obama (C) is joined by his appointees for CIA Director, former Clinton administration White House chief of staff Leon Panetta (L), and National Intelligence Director, retired U.S. Navy Admiral Dennis Blair, at a news conference at his transition office in Washington January 9, 2009. REUTERS/Jim Young (UNITED STATES)

From Yahoo News/AP:

WASHINGTON – President-elect Barack Obama is completing his national security team by announcing his unusual choices for CIA director and a national intelligence director who may face tough Senate confirmation questioning over how he confronted the Indonesian military when civilian massacres were occurring in East Timor.

Obama is also expected to announce that former National Counterterrorism Center Director John Brennan will be his top terrorism adviser on the National Security Council.

Obama was to introduce the men Friday, four days after their names leaked to reporters. That gave official Washington time to vent its surprise that Leon Panetta, a former White House chief of staff with no direct intelligence experience, had been tapped to head the CIA.

Read more ....

More News On President Obama's National Security Team

Obama names nation's new spymasters, vows no torture -- AFP
Obama Names Blair, Panetta to Top Intelligence Posts -- Bloomberg
Obama Names His National Intelligence Team -- CQ Politics
Obama formally announces intelligence team -- The Guardian
Obama Picks CIA Veteran Brennan as Counterterror Adviser -- Washington Post
Obama Selects 4 More Senior Defense Officials -- Washington Post
Obama team announces senior DoD posts -- Foreign Policy Blog
Kudos to Obama on new Pentagon general counsel pick -- Foreign Policy Blog
Defense Subcabinet Taking Shape -- Yglesias
More Pentagon Bigs Sticking Around -- The Danger Room
FACTBOX: Obama names intelligence leadership team -- Reuters
A Difficult Road Awaits Panetta at the C.I.A. -- New York Times
The New Intelligence Regime: No Biased Intel, No Torture, ‘No Exceptions’ -- Washington Independent
Surprise at the CIA -- Washington Times opinion
Is Panetta the Right Man for the Job? -- Philip Klein, The American Spectator
The Case for Panetta -- Robert Baer, The New Republic