The Snake Pit: The National Security Council
You may have read the story last week that President Trump has ordered "a substantial reduction in the staff of the National Security Council" . Larry Johnson views this as good news, and high time--Empty Desks at the NSC . As usual, there's more than meets the eye. Without a very determined President the Deep State expands relentlessly, spreading its tentacle into every corner of the decision making organs of government:
Looks like President Trump finally realizes that he is working in a snake pit. When he took office on January 20, 2017, he left an enormous cadre of Obama/Hillary sycophants in place. He could have (and should have) moved them out and reassigned them to the bureaucratic equivalent of Siberia. But he did not. ...
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Under President Obama the number of CIA officers "detailed" for temporary duty at the National Security Council swelled to around 200. That makes for an enormous number of bodies walking the halls of the Old Executive Office Building. When Donald Trump was inaugurated the CIA boosted the number to closer to 300. Gone are the old days when CIA officers eschewed partisan politics and focused on serving the elected President. The current crew is heavily politicized and most have an anti-Trump bias.
Starting last week President Trump began shedding CIA detailees. ...
If you get a chance to visit the OEOB their are lots of empty, unoccupied desks this week. This is not a temporary change. It is a long overdue move. President Trump finally realizes he is surrounded by partisan seditionists and is eliminating their access and influence. About time.
That's the good news. The bad news is that this reduction in staff will occur by attrition, as Time reports:
The reductions will primarily be carried out through attrition, as staffers return from assignments at the NSC to their home agencies, the people said. Many people who work at the council are career government professionals detailed from the Pentagon, State Department, and intelligence agencies.
My view is that this is happening too late in the life of this administration, and is taking place too slowly.