He knows more than the generals
by digby
And when something goes wrong, it’s their fault:
President Donald Trump on Tuesday dodged responsibility for a botched mission he ordered in Yemen last month, placing the onus on the military and Barack Obama’s administration instead.
Bill Owens, the father of Chief Petty Officer William “Ryan” Owens, the Navy SEAL who died in the operation, demanded an investigation into his son’s death over the weekend. Owens further revealed he couldn’t bear to meet Trump at the airport as Ryan’s casket was carried off the military plane last month.
Asked about the matter during an interview with Fox News’ “Fox ‘n’ Friends,” Trump repeatedly said “they” were responsible for the outcome of the mission, in reference to the military.
“This was a mission that was started before I got here. This was something they wanted to do,” he said. “They came to me, they explained what they wanted to do ― the generals ― who are very respected, my generals are the most respected that we’ve had in many decades, I believe. And they lost Ryan.
He also said that they got tons of intelligence, which has been refuted. In fact, the pentagon is leaking like a sieve on this and Trump blaming the generals will likely encourage more of it.
Let’s set aside the fact that he’s refusing to take responsibility for a mission he authorized over dinner like he was ordering the molten lavacake. He has never taken responsibility for anything in his life and I doubt he ever will. The buck stops elsewhere.
But what’s this drivel about “his generals”? He didn’t create them. He didn’t promote them. They came all generalled up when he took office.
This is the mindset that creeps me out the most about Trump. He sounds like Saddam Hussein.
By the way, you’ll like this little aside in a Reuters piece about Trump request for massive increases in military spending:
An official familiar with the proposal said Trump’s request for the Pentagon included more money for shipbuilding, military aircraft and establishing “a more robust presence in key international waterways and choke points” such as the Strait of Hormuz and South China Sea.
That could put Washington at odds with Iran and China. The United States already has the world’s most powerful fighting force and it spends far more than any other country on defense.
He’s a refreshing populist, isolationist who doesn’t use a private email server so it’s all good, amirite?
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