Washington – As President Obama’s administration gets hammered with crisis after crisis – an approaching Cold War in Europe, terror in the Middle East and the deadly Ebola outbreak in West Africa – the national security team is being questioned about their ability to handle the situations, and how many will continue on the president’s team.
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Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat and a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, says that while the team seems to be holding up considering the circumstances, the complexity and amount of problems, “would exact a toll personally and professionally on any group.”
So far, the president has added Ron Klain, former chief of staff to Vice President Joe Biden to assist with the Ebola response, and Gen. John R. Allen, a former commander in Afghanistan, to organize the coalition against the Islamic State. According to aides, Klain is viewed as a possible replacement for John Podesta, the president’s counselor, or possibly White House Chief of Staff Denis R. McDonough if he leaves.
McDonough traveled to Senator Dianne Feinstein’s home in San Francisco Columbus Day weekend to negotiate redactions in a report on the C.I.A.’s detention and interrogation policies after Sept. 11. Some wonder why the chief of staff would take part in seemingly obscure matters, but according to the New York Times (http://nyti.ms/1yJKqbQ) shows how President Obama will give important assignments to those he trusts the most.
Outsiders brought in to assist the team are sometimes called czars. While no one on Obama’s staff has genuine “czar status,” according to the report, McDonough seems to have come the closest to that title, as he is engrossed equally in domestic policy and national security, far more than past chiefs of staff. In addition to traveling to San Francisco, he flew to Berlin to smooth things over with Chancellor Angela Merkel after news broke that the NSA was eavesdropping on her cell phone.
Some say McDonough’s wide spectrum of duties poses a challenge to National Security Advisor Susan E. Rice, who also has close ties to the president.
Obama is also dealing with the loss of talented staff members – William J. Burns, a deputy secretary of state retired last week – and the White House is uncertain about his replacement.
How the administration handles crisis management reflects greatly on the president and according to some officials, when he returned from vacation, he instructed his staff increase their response to events and become proactive.
Information taken from The New York Times
Is this a nice way of saying …..The White House has no clue of how to deal with anything ?
President will be capping off a broken sewer pipe with a full vomit bag.
To Mr Finster, #2 ,
Yours is hands down The Best, Truest, Most Accurate, Most Descriptive, comment I have ever read, on VIN or any other site. I’d be laughing until my sides hurt and my lungs were out of oxygen, if I didn’t feel so terribly sad to see this beautiful country destroyed by people who are evilly stupid or stupidly evil. Not sure which.
He should be replaced along with those staff members
They should replace the main problem – our dear President