De-operationalizing the operation
Another shakeup in Trumpland. Hey they’ve been there more than two months now, it’s totally normal to have 47 shakeups in such a long period of time. Bannon is out of that job he should never have been in in the first place.
President Trump reshuffled his national security organization on Wednesday, removing his chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon, from a top policy-making committee and restoring senior military and intelligence officials who had been downgraded when he first came into office.
The shift was orchestrated by Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, who was tapped as Mr. Trump’s national security adviser after the resignation of Michael T. Flynn, who stepped down in February after being caught misleading Vice President Mike Pence and other White House officials about his contacts with Russia’s ambassador.
See? Totally normal. Everything going very very smoothly, smoothlier than any president you’ve ever seen before, very very very smoothly.
General McMaster inherited an organizational scheme for the National Security Council that stirred protests because of Mr. Bannon’s role. The original setup made Mr. Bannon, the former chairman of Breitbart News, a member of the principals committee that typically includes cabinet-level officials like the vice president, secretary of state and defense secretary.
Hey look, just because Bannon is a total flake and alt-right tool and wifebeater doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be a big noise in National Security. It’s all part of the swamp-drainage project.
A new order issued by Mr. Trump, dated Tuesday and made public on Wednesday, removes Mr. Bannon from the principals committee, restores the chairman of the Joint Chiefs and intelligence director and also adds the energy secretary, C.I.A. director and United Nations ambassador.
A senior White House official presented the move as a logical evolution, not a setback for Mr. Bannon.
Oh a “logical evolution” is it – you mean from doing something completely crazy and dangerous to not doing that? Usually presidents skip the doing something completely crazy and dangerous part but whatever, I’m sure they know best.
He had originally been put on the principals committee to keep an eye on Mr. Flynn and to “de-operationalize” the N.S.C. after the Obama administration, this official said on condition of anonymity to discuss internal dynamics. This official said that process had been completed.
To keep an eye on Flynn? Then why was Flynn there? If he needed an eye kept on him, why was he there? Oh and also, who is keeping an eye on Trump?
I have no idea what “de-operationalize the N.S.C.” is supposed to mean.
With drunks at the wheel, it’s a matter of chance whether or not we run into a tree.
Oh good, now any wars we head towards will be merely disastrous instead of catastrophic…
Pinball! (Tilt)
Smooth-league, even!
Score one for adults. So somebody must have finally explained to Trump, using small words, the fast one that Bannon pulled when that executive order was signed. This is a loss of power and influence (in other words, a demotion) for Bannon. If Bannon were to “evolve,” I would put a moral compass and sense of ethics on a list of desirable traits one might hope he would acquire. But since evolution doesn’t actually work like that, not gonna happen. The internal White House power struggle continues.
I sincerely doubt that The Donald put Bannon on the NSC through some kind of mistake. Admittedly, he would have probably given the portfolio to little Jared if he’d thought of it at the time. But Bannon is also sufficiently involved in the dirt not to give Donnie away, so he was okay for the purpose. Whatever it was.
Has anybody figured out yet what “de-operationalizing” means?
FUBAR? Just a guess.
I think you’re half right, quixote: Not by mistake, but nor by donnie’s considered decision. The man has bigly problems finding the working end of a Sharpie (not the canine, the marker!) but finally managed to make a mark.
Quixote, it’s quite simple. Webster’s defines operationalize as “to make operational.” Logically then, to de-operationalize means to render something non-operational. Since Bannon sees his job as destroying the administrative state, he was a good fit for the position. Of course, he could easily be replaced by any old Republican, since that’s been the goal of the party since at least Reagan.
Rrr, the Sharpei has two working ends, but I suppose Donnie would have trouble remembering which end does what. I mean, he has enough trouble not talking out of his own ‘wrong’ end.
AoS, as long as you and I are on the same page … oh wait a second while I flip
In Trumpland, what level of incompetence or corruption could be high enough to warrant any corrective action?
Bannon must have made a hair joke, or been seen to roll his eyes at some tweet.
Yes John t D, either would probably be Bannonable. (Bardon the bun)