“A group of 50 former national security officials, all of whom have served Republican presidents from Richard M. Nixon to George W. Bush, have signed an open letter calling Donald Trump unqualified to be president and warning that, if elected, ‘he would be the most reckless President in American history.’
“The letter offers a withering critique of the GOP nominee, saying he ‘lacks the character, values and experience’ to be president. The signatories declare their conviction that he would be dangerous ‘and would put at risk our country’s national security and well-being.’
“…Although no former secretaries of state signed the letter, it carries the signatures of Michael Chertoff and Tom Ridge, former secretaries of homeland security; Michael Hayden, a former director of the CIA and the National Security Agency; John Negroponte, a former director of national intelligence and deputy secretary of state; Robert Zoellick, who also was a deputy secretary of state and president of the World Bank and the U.S. trade representative under George W. Bush; Carla Hills, the U.S. trade representative under George H.W. Bush; and William H. Taft IV, a former deputy secretary of defense and ambassador to NATO under the elder Bush.
“Also signing the letter were several aides who were senior advisers in the White House, State Department and Pentagon. Among them were Eric Edelman, a national security adviser to then-Vice President Richard B. Cheney, and Bellinger, who worked closely with Rice when she was secretary of state and when she was on the NSC.
“…Although the signatories all served Republican presidents, many of the criticisms echo those being leveled by the Clinton campaign. ‘He appears to lack basic knowledge about and belief in the U.S. Constitution, U.S. laws and U.S. institutions, including religious tolerance, freedom of the press and an independent judiciary,’ the letter says of Trump.
“Later on, it adds, ‘at the same time, he persistently compliments our adversaries and threatens our allies and friends. Unlike previous Presidents who had limited experience in foreign affairs, Mr. Trump has shown no interest in educating himself. He continues to display an alarming ignorance of basic facts of contemporary international politics.’
“The letter said Trump ‘lacks the temperament to be President,’ and gave a scathing assessment of his ability to take advice, discipline himself, control his emotions and reflect before acting. ‘He is unable or unwilling to separate truth from falsehood,’ the letter states in a particularly pointed criticism of Trump’s personal traits. ‘He does not encourage conflicting views. He lacks self-control and acts impetuously. He cannot tolerate personal criticism. He has alarmed our closest allies with his erratic behavior. All of these are dangerous qualities in an individual who aspires to be President and Commander-in-Chief, with command of the U.S. nuclear arsenal.’
“Bellinger said the letter is not intended to be political. ‘What we really wanted to do was to raise the alarm and awareness among voters who may find Mr. Trump attractive in a lot of ways, but do not understand what is required to be president of the United States,’ he said. ‘We are trying to say to them, we have served inside the White House, we have worked with presidents for decades, we know what’s required to be president, and we are deeply concerned Donald Trump does not have these qualifications, the judgment or the temperament.”
from
Former GOP national security officials:Trump would be “most reckless’ American president in history by Carol
Morello
P.S. I was reminded that "Every living president will not be voting for Trump!"
ReplyDelete“…Trump as commander in chief? Trump with his finger on the button?
ReplyDelete“When the subject of nukes has come up in interviews, he has come across as creepily naïve. For instance, according to MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough, Trump allegedly hounded a foreign policy expert with the question: ‘If we have them, why can’t we use them?’
“And when Chris Matthews, in another interview, scolded Trump for even suggesting that maybe — maybe — launching a nuclear attack might be necessary someday, he shot back: ‘Then why are we making them? Why do we make them?’
“America, America. This is why we’re great. A clueless billionaire TV personality can get within screaming distance of the presidency and, in the process, push all sorts of (non-nuclear) buttons with his politically incorrect questions, implications and assertions. I have no doubt that a huge part of Trump’s popularity is due to his aggressive naiveté. He doesn’t know any more about this than Joe Sixpack does, so the questions he asks are Average American questions. In the process, he yanks the geopolitics of nuclear deterrence — the embedded insanity, you might say, of Mutually Assured Destruction — out of the clutches of the deep state and its secret priesthood.
“The last thing I want to see is Trump gaining admittance to this realm. But his banging at the door may serve a valuable purpose. At the very least, it brings certain realities into the consciousness of the American mainstream…”—Robert C. Koehler, “Donald Trump, the Nuclear Arsenal, and Insanity.”