Trump’s picks for National Security Adviser and CIA Director are both clear choices to continue to tow the Trump line of all-out assault on Muslim people at home and abroad, endorsing his “Muslim immigration ban” and his “extreme vetting”. Both found their way into politics by riding the wave of racist Tea Party opposition to Obama and can be considered part of the “insurgency” within the Republican Party that Trump’s campaign became the poster child for, unlike their traditional racist (read: Klansmen) cabinet member Jeff Sessions. Both believe in conspiracy theories and have been caught spreading fake news reports by far right rags. Both believe in trampling on what’s left of the U.S. constitution and international law.
Michael Flynn was the former Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency and ingratiated himself to Trump as is security policy adviser on the campaign trail. But he is also an orientalist racist who unabashedly promotes the concept of the ‘war of civilizations’ between the West and Muslim-majority countries, in addition to other racist opinions. Here is a snapshot on Flynn:
- He is a board member of ACT for America – the largest anti-Muslim organization in the U.S. according to Southern Poverty Law Center.
- Flynn is the original source for Trump’s repeated complaints that Obama wouldn’t use the term “radical Islam” after the Pulse Nightclub Shooting, purporting that Islam is the enemy.
- He said that, “Islam is a political ideology. It definitely hides behind being a religion.”
- He praised Irving, Texas Mayor Beth Van Duyne for making public comments falsely suggesting that secret Sharia court systems were being set up in the U.S.
- “Do you want to be ruled by men who eagerly drink the blood of their dying enemies? Such questions are almost never asked. Yet if you read the publicly available ISIS documents on their intentions, there’s no doubt that they are dead set on taking us over and drinking our blood.”
- He retweeted a 5 minute video attacking Muslims and the notion of ‘Islamophobia’ with the commentary “Fear of Muslims is RATIONAL”
- During his RNC speech, Flynn made a call to ensure that “American exceptionalism would never fade” and claimed that the U.S. was founded on specifically “Judeo-Christian values”.
- Flynn is large part responsible for the expansion of the use of special forces around the world in the post-9/11 world and the expansion of U.S. drone program under Obama.
- Flynn shares news frequently from sources such as Robert Spencer and Pamela Gellar – notorious Islamophobic extremists and leaders of the broader anti-Muslim movement who have called openly for violence.
- He referred to Muslims as “barbarians” in a tweet.
- He’s posted attacks on the Black Lives Matter movement, telling activists to “get of the protest line” and “get a job”.
- He retweeted far right conspiracy theories regarding globalization with the statement “Choose Nationalism – Trump/Pence 2016”
- He is a staunch supporter of Israel and is aggressively pursuing the destruction of rapprochement with Iran, citing Iran as a primary enemy.
- Ironically, he is sludge from Trump’s swamp, and has worked as a lobbyist, even for foreign governments like the autocratic regime of Erdogan in Turkey.
While Flynn is a right-wing fanatic against Islam he, like Trump, are seen as moving away from Clinton’s extremely harsh, confrontational stance toward Russia. They make the argument that the U.S. and Russia should be partners of a sort against “Islamic terrorism” in Syria and elsewhere. Thus Russia and the Syrian government are cautiously optimistic that the Trump/Flynn team will re-orient U.S. foreign policy in a positive direction at least as it pertains to the Syrian war.
The Obama/Clinton team focused on overthrowing the secular government of Bashar al-Assad since 2011 while U.S. regional allies armed and funded ISIS, al-Qaeda, al-Nusra Front, the Army of Conquest and other terrorist organizations and alliances.
Trump’s chooses another fanatic for CIA Director
The pick for CIA Director, Mike Pompeo, is no better than Michael Flynn. He ran his 2010 campaign on the rise of the Tea Party in Kansas while making racist jabs at his Indian competitor. During that time he referred to Obama as an “evil Muslim communist USURPER,” which means he and Trump have been bedfellows of the same populist racist movement for quite some time. The Koch brothers, who financed the rise of the Tea Party, have also been his primary sponsor helping to catapult him into office with their finances.
Here are some points to know about Mike Pompeo:
- He has publicly defended the use of waterboarding and other torture techniques during interrogations.
- He has staunchly opposed the closure of Guantanamo Bay, calling it “a perfect facility” and denouncing hunger strikes at the prison as just a “political stunt”.
- He has called for the execution of Edward Snowden.
- He is for the complete resumption and expansion of the NSA spying program to collect phone metadata, lifestyle, and financial information on all people in the U.S. to be compiled into a searchable database in the hands of the government. He has said that “legal and bureaucratic impediments should be removed” in regard to expansion of spying on people in the U.S.
- He vows to overturn the Iran deal and called for the bombing of Iran in 2014.
- He believes climate change is a hoax and that all regulations limiting greenhouse gases should be removed.
- He differs from Trump and Flynn by a shade in that he supports continued and expanded intervention in Syria and possible war with Russia.
- He has frequently attacked the Muslim community in the U.S. for allegedly being “silent” when terrorist attacks take place, even saying, “Islamic leaders across America are potentially complicit in these acts.”
The appointment of Michael Flynn does not require congressional approval and there has been no outcry from Republicans in the House and Senate against Mike Pompeo. These two are a signal from Trump that he plans to keep his promise of launching an all-out attack on Muslim people. Their combination of militaristic views toward strategic areas of the Middle East and conspiracy theory-fueled condemnation of Muslims in the United States is deeply alarming.
The use of expanded spying, torture, detention, and more is a great threat to Muslim and other oppressed communities, as well as the leadership of progressive movements and organizations who challenge the Trump administration and the ruling class.
Now is a critical time for these forces to unite and build a movement with deep, practical connections to all working class communities and targeted sectors of society. We must prepare ourselves for the worst so that the Trump agenda does not catch us off guard.