Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn has spent 33 years in the intel business and was appointed to two key positions by President Obama; deputy director of national intelligence and the director of the defense intelligence agency. He is currently being considered as a running mate for Donald Trump.
But in the four years that Flynn served in the Obama administration, he was never summoned to a meeting with the president nor ever asked for his views on any issue.
The general, who spent 33 years in the intelligence field, told The Daily Caller News Foundation he was never called in for a face-to-face meeting with Obama to offer his assessment of ISIS as it rampaged through the Middle East, or during the political meltdown of Libya and Egypt, or on Iran's efforts to build a nuclear bomb, or of the "Russian reset" that ended in shambles.
In four years, Flynn was never invited to brief the president on any kind of intelligence issue. Ever.
"Here is the crux of my relationship with Obama," Flynn told TheDCNF in a wide ranging interview Tuesday. "Here I am, running one of the largest intelligence agencies in the world. He appoints me twice - one as the assistant director of national intelligence and one as the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. I'm also his senior intelligence officer. And I had almost five years in combat."
He paused, then said, "I never met with him once."
"He's a kind of a funny guy when it comes to relationships," Flynn told TheDCNF. "He's very aloof and very distant. I wasn't on his screen at all. I wasn't on his radar which is really sad. It's amazing."
Now in a turn of tables, Flynn is advising presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and is widely reported as being on the short list to run as Trump's vice president.
Unlike Obama, Trump has not only met with Flynn but has also spent hours listening to Flynn's views.
Given what we've seen of Obama's foreign policy, this is not surprising. The president considers himself a foreign policy genius so why should he even bother listening to contrary views? If he had talked to Flynn, he might not have referred to Islamic State as "the JV." He might not have drawn a non-existent "red line" in Syria. He might not have been so eager to cut and run in Iraq and Afghanistan. He might have supported the Free Syrian Army and ousted Assad.
There are a dozen more mistakes made by Obama that might have been avoided if he allowed free debate in his foreign policy and intelligence circles. But it's obvious that the president's mind is dangerously closed and not meeting with a key advisor for 4 years is an indication of just how arrogant the president is.
No comments:
Post a Comment