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What Republican leaders in National Security said four months ago about Trump

Glen Contrarian

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CNN first reported on this on March 3rd. The first post is the letter, and the second is the list of signatories.

We the undersigned, members of the Republican national security community, represent a broad spectrum of opinion on America’s role in the world and what is necessary to keep us safe and prosperous. We have disagreed with one another on many issues, including the Iraq war and intervention in Syria. But we are united in our opposition to a Donald Trump presidency. Recognizing as we do, the conditions in American politics that have contributed to his popularity, we nonetheless are obligated to state our core objections clearly:

His vision of American influence and power in the world is wildly inconsistent and unmoored in principle. He swings from isolationism to military adventurism within the space of one sentence.

His advocacy for aggressively waging trade wars is a recipe for economic disaster in a globally connected world.

His embrace of the expansive use of torture is inexcusable.

His hateful, anti-Muslim rhetoric undercuts the seriousness of combating Islamic radicalism by alienating partners in the Islamic world making significant contributions to the effort. Furthermore, it endangers the safety and Constitutionally guaranteed freedoms of American Muslims.

Controlling our border and preventing illegal immigration is a serious issue, but his insistence that Mexico will fund a wall on the southern border inflames unhelpful passions, and rests on an utter misreading of, and contempt for, our southern neighbor.

Similarly, his insistence that close allies such as Japan must pay vast sums for protection is the sentiment of a racketeer, not the leader of the alliances that have served us so well since World War II.

His admiration for foreign dictators such as Vladimir Putin is unacceptable for the leader of the world’s greatest democracy.

He is fundamentally dishonest. Evidence of this includes his attempts to deny positions he has unquestionably taken in the past, including on the 2003 Iraq war and the 2011 Libyan conflict. We accept that views evolve over time, but this is simply misrepresentation.

His equation of business acumen with foreign policy experience is false. Not all lethal conflicts can be resolved as a real estate deal might, and there is no recourse to bankruptcy court in international affairs.

Mr. Trump’s own statements lead us to conclude that as president, he would use the authority of his office to act in ways that make America less safe, and which would diminish our standing in the world. Furthermore, his expansive view of how presidential power should be wielded against his detractors poses a distinct threat to civil liberty in the United States. Therefore, as committed and loyal Republicans, we are unable to support a Party ticket with Mr. Trump at its head. We commit ourselves to working energetically to prevent the election of someone so utterly unfitted to the office.
 
The 121 signatories of the above letter:

Ken Adelman
David Adesnik
Michael Auslin
Mike Baker
Christopher Barton
Kevin W. Billings
Robert D. Blackwill
Daniel A. Blumenthal
Max Boot
Ellen Bork
Anna Borshchevskaya
Joseph A. Bosco
Michael Chertoff
Patrick Chovanec
James Clad
Eliot A. Cohen
Gus Coldebella
Carrie Cordero
Michael Coulter
Chester A. Crocker
Patrick M. Cronin
Seth Cropsey
Tom Donnelly
Daniel Drezner
Colin Dueck
Eric Edelman
Joseph Esposito
Charles Fairbanks
Richard A. Falkenrath
Peter D. Feaver
Niall Ferguson
Richard Fontaine
Aaron Friedberg
Dan Gabriel
Greg Garcia
Jana Chapman Gates
Jeffrey Gedmin
Reuel Marc Gerecht
James K. Glassman
David Gordon
Christopher J. Griffin
Mary R. Habeck
Paul Haenle
Melinda Haring
Robert Hastings
Rebeccah Heinrichs
Francis Q. Hoang
Rachel Hoff
Jeffrey W. Hornung
William C. Inboden
Jamil N. Jaffer
Ash Jain
Marc C. Johnson
Myriah Jordan
Robert G. Joseph
Tim Kane
Kate Kidder
Robert Kagan
Rep. Jim Kolbe
David Kramer
Stephen Krasner

Matthew Kroenig
Frank Lavin
Philip I. Levy
Philip Lohaus
Mary Beth Long
Peter Mansoor
John Maurer
Matthew McCabe
Bryan McGrath
Richard G. Miles
Paul D. Miller
Charles Morrison
Michael B. Mukasey
Scott W. Muller
Lester Munson
Andrew S. Natsios
Michael Noonan

Tom Nichols
John Noonan
Roger F. Noriega
Stephen E. Ockenden
John Osborn
Robert T. Osterhaler
Mackubin T. Owens
Daniel Pipes
Everett Pyatt
Martha T. Rainville
Stephen Rodriguez
Marc A. Ross
Nicholas Rostow
Michael Rubin
Daniel F. Runde
Benjamin Runkle
Richard L. Russell
Andrew Sagor
Kori Schake
Randy Scheunemann
Gary J. Schmitt
Gabriel Schoenfeld
Russell Seitz
Kalev I. Sepp
Vance Serchuk
David R. Shedd
Gary Shiffman
Kristen Silverberg
Michael Singh
Ray Takeyh
Jeremy Teigen
William H. Tobey
Frances F. Townsend
Jan Van Tol
Daniel Vajdich
Ruth Wedgwood
Albert Wolf
Julie Wood
Dov S. Zakheim
Roger Zakheim
Sam Zega
Philip Zelikow
Robert B. Zoellick
Laurence Zuriff

Number of Signatories: 121



The statement above was coordinated by Dr. Eliot A. Cohen, former Counselor of the Department of State (2007–8), and Bryan McGrath, Managing Director of The FerryBridge Group, a defense consultancy. They encourage other members of the Republican foreign policy and national security communities wishing to sign the declaration to contact them.
 
Their objections do not override the validity of GOP voters or the delegates that result from that process. Once we allow those in power to override the will of mere voting sheeple then the party that they claim to represent will cease to exist. It is the fault of congress that they ceded extra-constitutional power to the POTUS (and their assigns) in the first place.
 
No one cares about what the old leadership thinks...

They just don't seem to realize this.

You'd think they'd learn, after all the negative press and pundit derision; he is still increasing in popularity. :coffeepap:
 
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The closer the election gets the more threads you start. I think you protest too much. And as a result of it is you are helping Trump
 
No one cares about what the old leadership thinks...

They just don't seem to realize this.

You'd think they'd learn, after all the negative press and pundit derision; he is still increasing in popularity. :coffeepap:

The American public is dumber then even the most pessimistic individuals thought.
 
The American public is dumber then even the most pessimistic individuals thought.

No.

Most of us looking for a different option are just sick and tired of the Same S**T Different Day from both the Democratic and Republican Party.

If the leadership of both the Dems and Reps oppose Trump? That seems like a good reason to support him.

To be honest if there was a really excellent Libertarian candidate with a real chance of getting elected...I'd vote for him/her. Since there isn't? Better Trump than Hillary. :shrug:
 
The 121 signatories of the above letter:

Ken Adelman
David Adesnik
Michael Auslin
Mike Baker
Christopher Barton
Kevin W. Billings
Robert D. Blackwill
Daniel A. Blumenthal
Max Boot
Ellen Bork
Anna Borshchevskaya
Joseph A. Bosco
Michael Chertoff
Patrick Chovanec
James Clad
Eliot A. Cohen
Gus Coldebella
Carrie Cordero
Michael Coulter
Chester A. Crocker
Patrick M. Cronin
Seth Cropsey
Tom Donnelly
Daniel Drezner
Colin Dueck
Eric Edelman
Joseph Esposito
Charles Fairbanks
Richard A. Falkenrath
Peter D. Feaver
Niall Ferguson
Richard Fontaine
Aaron Friedberg
Dan Gabriel
Greg Garcia
Jana Chapman Gates
Jeffrey Gedmin
Reuel Marc Gerecht
James K. Glassman
David Gordon
Christopher J. Griffin
Mary R. Habeck
Paul Haenle
Melinda Haring
Robert Hastings
Rebeccah Heinrichs
Francis Q. Hoang
Rachel Hoff
Jeffrey W. Hornung
William C. Inboden
Jamil N. Jaffer
Ash Jain
Marc C. Johnson
Myriah Jordan
Robert G. Joseph
Tim Kane
Kate Kidder
Robert Kagan
Rep. Jim Kolbe
David Kramer
Stephen Krasner

Matthew Kroenig
Frank Lavin
Philip I. Levy
Philip Lohaus
Mary Beth Long
Peter Mansoor
John Maurer
Matthew McCabe
Bryan McGrath
Richard G. Miles
Paul D. Miller
Charles Morrison
Michael B. Mukasey
Scott W. Muller
Lester Munson
Andrew S. Natsios
Michael Noonan

Tom Nichols
John Noonan
Roger F. Noriega
Stephen E. Ockenden
John Osborn
Robert T. Osterhaler
Mackubin T. Owens
Daniel Pipes
Everett Pyatt
Martha T. Rainville
Stephen Rodriguez
Marc A. Ross
Nicholas Rostow
Michael Rubin
Daniel F. Runde
Benjamin Runkle
Richard L. Russell
Andrew Sagor
Kori Schake
Randy Scheunemann
Gary J. Schmitt
Gabriel Schoenfeld
Russell Seitz
Kalev I. Sepp
Vance Serchuk
David R. Shedd
Gary Shiffman
Kristen Silverberg
Michael Singh
Ray Takeyh
Jeremy Teigen
William H. Tobey
Frances F. Townsend
Jan Van Tol
Daniel Vajdich
Ruth Wedgwood
Albert Wolf
Julie Wood
Dov S. Zakheim
Roger Zakheim
Sam Zega
Philip Zelikow
Robert B. Zoellick
Laurence Zuriff

Number of Signatories: 121



The statement above was coordinated by Dr. Eliot A. Cohen, former Counselor of the Department of State (2007–8), and Bryan McGrath, Managing Director of The FerryBridge Group, a defense consultancy. They encourage other members of the Republican foreign policy and national security communities wishing to sign the declaration to contact them.

Too bad for them that the US is not run by a reigning royal class of aristocrats.

I don't like Trump either, but the voters chose him - well, the majority of Republican primary voters did. I voted for Kasich, but that's neither here nor there at this point.

If those folks were concerned about Trump, or a candidate like Trump gaining power, then maybe they should have done a better job convincing the electorate that they were doing a good job when they were in power. Why would anyone listen to them now, if these guys didn't feel it important enough to communicate, listen to, and talk with the voters when they had a chance before now?

Sour grapes. As far as I'm concerned, these asshats are part of the reason we have a Trump and a Hillary to deal with in the first place.
 
No.

Most of us looking for a different option are just sick and tired of the Same S**T Different Day from both the Democratic and Republican Party.

If the leadership of both the Dems and Reps oppose Trump? That seems like a good reason to support him.

To be honest if there was a really excellent Libertarian candidate with a real chance of getting elected...I'd vote for him/her. Since there isn't? Better Trump than Hillary. :shrug:

I'm sure they'd both oppose an outbreak of the Plague too. What a childish reason to vote someone into our highest office.
 
Hmm...straw man and personal attack.

Neither. You ignored all the factually true things given in the OP in favor of, "Well, if it annoys the meanie faces I don't like, then I'm all for it, no matter how insane or harmful it might be!" What else is a position like that to be called?
 
Neither. You ignored all the factually true things given in the OP in favor of, "Well, if it annoys the meanie faces I don't like, then I'm all for it, no matter how insane or harmful it might be!" What else is a position like that to be called?

(Sigh) They are entitled to their OPINION. That does not make their statements true.

As stated by other members, these people had their day in power...and have they addressed any of those issues properly, successfully, and to our satisfaction?

Hmm...since they all still exist, I guess not.

Time to give someone else outside the "good ole boys and girls club" a chance.
 
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(Sigh) They are entitled to their OPINION. That does not make their statements true.

As stated by other members, these people had their day in power...and have they addressed any of those issues properly, successfully, and to our satisfaction?

Hmm...since they all still exist, I guess not.

Time to give someone else a chance.

Most of it, until the last couple paragraphs, was just stuff he's said and done, dude. It's not like it's hard to find any of this stuff. He always makes sure to do it in front of a camera or 50.

Ok. But why someone who is dangerously ignorant and unfit for any kind of office? Why is this the guy you choose? "I hate my house, so let's just set the backyard on fire"? What?
 
Most of it, until the last couple paragraphs, was just stuff he's said and done, dude. It's not like it's hard to find any of this stuff. He always makes sure to do it in front of a camera or 50.

Ok. But why someone who is dangerously ignorant and unfit for any kind of office? Why is this the guy you choose? "I hate my house, so let's just set the backyard on fire"? What?

Reading is fundamental. READ what I've written in this and other similar threads. The answers are clearly stated.
 
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No.

Most of us looking for a different option are just sick and tired of the Same S**T Different Day from both the Democratic and Republican Party.

If the leadership of both the Dems and Reps oppose Trump? That seems like a good reason to support him.

To be honest if there was a really excellent Libertarian candidate with a real chance of getting elected...I'd vote for him/her. Since there isn't? Better Trump than Hillary. :shrug:

So you're tired of the same ****....but you don't seem to have a clue what you want to replace it with...is that it? Or do you just want change for the sake of change because your bored? Your reasoning for voting for Trump is very weak sauce. Why even bother to vote at all?
 
If the leadership of both the Dems and Reps oppose Trump? That seems like a good reason to support him.
Leadership in the Weimar Republic and in Germany's old parties opposed the Nazi Party as well.....many Germans felt that was a good reason to hand power over to Adolf.
 
If you're voting for him, you choose him. Take some ownership.

So you're tired of the same ****....but you don't seem to have a clue what you want to replace it with...is that it? Or do you just want change for the sake of change because your bored? Your reasoning for voting for Trump is very weak sauce. Why even bother to vote at all?

Sorry it took so long to respond. I was going through old posts to try to find a sampling of my support. I think I have them in order from oldest to newest.

If this doesn't explain...oh well. :shrug:

That's when I actually became a Trump supporter.

I can respect your position; but my biggest concern this election cycle is allowing Hillary a win with the option of 4 years to stack SCOTUS with at least one, and possibly more Supremes.

Most of my support for Trump comes from three pillars:

I'm sorry. Do you have any doubt that Clinton will appoint Justices to SCOTUS who oppose the 2A?

I am neither a Dem. nor a Rep., but I am concerned about my 2A rights...

1. Trump has not made any statement..."

Actually, they CAN both be right; depending on the issue. I dunno...maybe 20 years of watching her perform her Party Hackery might be the reason? :coffeepap:
 
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CNN first reported on this on March 3rd. The first post is the letter, and the second is the list of signatories.

We the undersigned, members of the Republican national security community, represent a broad spectrum of opinion on America’s role in the world and what is necessary to keep us safe and prosperous. We have disagreed with one another on many issues, including the Iraq war and intervention in Syria. But we are united in our opposition to a Donald Trump presidency. Recognizing as we do, the conditions in American politics that have contributed to his popularity, we nonetheless are obligated to state our core objections clearly:

His vision of American influence and power in the world is wildly inconsistent and unmoored in principle. He swings from isolationism to military adventurism within the space of one sentence.

His advocacy for aggressively waging trade wars is a recipe for economic disaster in a globally connected world.

His embrace of the expansive use of torture is inexcusable.

His hateful, anti-Muslim rhetoric undercuts the seriousness of combating Islamic radicalism by alienating partners in the Islamic world making significant contributions to the effort. Furthermore, it endangers the safety and Constitutionally guaranteed freedoms of American Muslims.

Controlling our border and preventing illegal immigration is a serious issue, but his insistence that Mexico will fund a wall on the southern border inflames unhelpful passions, and rests on an utter misreading of, and contempt for, our southern neighbor.

Similarly, his insistence that close allies such as Japan must pay vast sums for protection is the sentiment of a racketeer, not the leader of the alliances that have served us so well since World War II.

His admiration for foreign dictators such as Vladimir Putin is unacceptable for the leader of the world’s greatest democracy.

He is fundamentally dishonest. Evidence of this includes his attempts to deny positions he has unquestionably taken in the past, including on the 2003 Iraq war and the 2011 Libyan conflict. We accept that views evolve over time, but this is simply misrepresentation.

His equation of business acumen with foreign policy experience is false. Not all lethal conflicts can be resolved as a real estate deal might, and there is no recourse to bankruptcy court in international affairs.

Mr. Trump’s own statements lead us to conclude that as president, he would use the authority of his office to act in ways that make America less safe, and which would diminish our standing in the world. Furthermore, his expansive view of how presidential power should be wielded against his detractors poses a distinct threat to civil liberty in the United States. Therefore, as committed and loyal Republicans, we are unable to support a Party ticket with Mr. Trump at its head. We commit ourselves to working energetically to prevent the election of someone so utterly unfitted to the office.

What it says to me is that the Republicans have a problem, if so many of those representing the Republican voters could not prevent a candidate that they thought so dangerous.

The same in another way is true of the Democrats. They stopped the greater evil with a smaller one. But they seem to have resorted to at best seedy and at worst illegal methods to do it.
 
The 121 signatories of the above letter:

Ken Adelman
David Adesnik
Michael Auslin
Mike Baker
Christopher Barton
Kevin W. Billings
Robert D. Blackwill
Daniel A. Blumenthal
Max Boot
Ellen Bork
Anna Borshchevskaya
Joseph A. Bosco
Michael Chertoff
Patrick Chovanec
James Clad
Eliot A. Cohen
Gus Coldebella
Carrie Cordero
Michael Coulter
Chester A. Crocker
Patrick M. Cronin
Seth Cropsey
Tom Donnelly
Daniel Drezner
Colin Dueck
Eric Edelman
Joseph Esposito
Charles Fairbanks
Richard A. Falkenrath
Peter D. Feaver
Niall Ferguson
Richard Fontaine
Aaron Friedberg
Dan Gabriel
Greg Garcia
Jana Chapman Gates
Jeffrey Gedmin
Reuel Marc Gerecht
James K. Glassman
David Gordon
Christopher J. Griffin
Mary R. Habeck
Paul Haenle
Melinda Haring
Robert Hastings
Rebeccah Heinrichs
Francis Q. Hoang
Rachel Hoff
Jeffrey W. Hornung
William C. Inboden
Jamil N. Jaffer
Ash Jain
Marc C. Johnson
Myriah Jordan
Robert G. Joseph
Tim Kane
Kate Kidder
Robert Kagan
Rep. Jim Kolbe
David Kramer
Stephen Krasner
...

Number of Signatories: 121



The statement above was coordinated by Dr. Eliot A. Cohen, former Counselor of the Department of State (2007–8), and Bryan McGrath, Managing Director of The FerryBridge Group, a defense consultancy. They encourage other members of the Republican foreign policy and national security communities wishing to sign the declaration to contact them.

Sounds like a long list of people that just put themselves on the outside of power and decision making when Trump becomes president. And rightly so.

A lot of what the powers that be seem to think works just has proven it doesn't and so we need a little something different... Trump will certainly tamp it down once in office, has already begun to do so with his speeches, but have we been "leading from behind" long enough/so long that we no longer really know what true superpower leadership should look like anymore? Showing, and actually following through, with strength when you are right never really hurts things.

I am with/for a new look at how America can wield power to assert our American interests, which are generally beneficial to world stability.

I am with/for a tougher trade stance and America getting better trade deals.

I have no problem with aggressive interrogation practices, all those that the Oscar Meyerites among us abhor, in a war with adversaries such as they are.

Someone has to start looking at the problem of radical Islam for what it actually is, not encouraging and/or ignoring it like the current apparent Muslim-supporter-in-chief.

Whatever we need to do to get control of our legal immigration system again just needs be done. Mexico especially needs to be set right on how they handle/encourage this wandering over to the US side for all of their unemployed at great cost of our lower skilled workers and to our security as a nation.

The US taxpayer has been pretty much shouldering alone the cost of global liberty since WW2, our "allies" can either start spending money on their own defenses or, in turn, they can start contributing to our defense of them.

Estimations from afar as to who is, who should be admired and for what reasons are simply almost childish and should be ignored.

Fundamentally dishonest? Lets just put it this way, he has not constantly lied to the American people all the way to the level of criminal breaking of the law [thats only what we know at this point, who knows how much further it goes?], he did not collude with the establishment of the GOP to derail their constituents voices.

With the disasters that have been the Obama-Clinton foreign policy run, a stronger more steady hand at the helm aiding our allies and countering our foes may be just what the doctor should be prescribing to ease our ills in this area.

How Obama used/abused his power, his pen and phone, jamming the unwanted down the American public's throats, time and time again, the constant lying [You can keep your health-plan/doctor and costs will be much lower, Benghazi, the anti-conservative group IRS debacle, Fast and Furious...], the subterfuges , the divisiveness between race and groups supported by this white house and the former SoS... give us a break as to who is "unfitted"... at the very least who is the more "unfitted"... for to the office.
 
No.

Most of us looking for a different option are just sick and tired of the Same S**T Different Day from both the Democratic and Republican Party.

If the leadership of both the Dems and Reps oppose Trump? That seems like a good reason to support him.

To be honest if there was a really excellent Libertarian candidate with a real chance of getting elected...I'd vote for him/her. Since there isn't? Better Trump than Hillary. :shrug:

Yeah.

My opinion of the intelligence of my fellow citizens had already been dwindling fast, but this pretty much sealed the deal.

Saying "well, if the politicians don't like him, that's good enough for me" is beyond reckless.
 
Too bad for them that the US is not run by a reigning royal class of aristocrats.

I don't like Trump either, but the voters chose him - well, the majority of Republican primary voters did. I voted for Kasich, but that's neither here nor there at this point.

If those folks were concerned about Trump, or a candidate like Trump gaining power, then maybe they should have done a better job convincing the electorate that they were doing a good job when they were in power. Why would anyone listen to them now, if these guys didn't feel it important enough to communicate, listen to, and talk with the voters when they had a chance before now?

Sour grapes. As far as I'm concerned, these asshats are part of the reason we have a Trump and a Hillary to deal with in the first place.

Yeah, since when should Real Conservatives listen to those Republicans whose careers were built around national security? What do they know? Of course, before the advent of Trump, they were considered by everyone on the Right as real patriots who did their level best to keep America safe...

...but now that they had the gall to speak out to warn America about Trump...well, ha-RUMPH, they're all persona non grata!

But that's the new normal on the Right - as long as you support whoever the nominee is (regardless of just how dangerous you know that person to be), you are still a patriot, a 'real conservative'. BUT if you say anything whatsoever against said nominee - and you do so with the full knowledge that the people you've stood with all your professional life would suddenly reject you, but you do it anyway because your duty to the American people is worth more than your career...

...to today's "conservatives", such people are, as you said above, "asshats", traitors to the cause.
 
Yeah, since when should Real Conservatives listen to those Republicans whose careers were built around national security? What do they know? Of course, before the advent of Trump, they were considered by everyone on the Right as real patriots who did their level best to keep America safe...

...but now that they had the gall to speak out to warn America about Trump...well, ha-RUMPH, they're all persona non grata!

But that's the new normal on the Right - as long as you support whoever the nominee is (regardless of just how dangerous you know that person to be), you are still a patriot, a 'real conservative'. BUT if you say anything whatsoever against said nominee - and you do so with the full knowledge that the people you've stood with all your professional life would suddenly reject you, but you do it anyway because your duty to the American people is worth more than your career...

...to today's "conservatives", such people are, as you said above, "asshats", traitors to the cause.

Everyone has an agenda. Even asshats. Please, please do not take my posts as some form of support for Trump. I was actually putting partial blame on those asshats for creating an environment where a "Trump" could become the party nominee.

This part of your post - "ha-RUMPH" - put an image in my head that made me laugh out loud and scare the cat.
 
Everyone has an agenda. Even asshats. Please, please do not take my posts as some form of support for Trump. I was actually putting partial blame on those asshats for creating an environment where a "Trump" could become the party nominee.

This part of your post - "ha-RUMPH" - put an image in my head that made me laugh out loud and scare the cat.

Thing is, what a lot of people on DP - heck, in political forums and discussion boards in general - don't seem to get is that the great majority of us on all sides are good-hearted, well-meaning, hard-working people who are patriotic and who want the best for everyone.

The conflicts arise when what we feel is "what is best for everyone" just doesn't match up with what the others say is best for everyone.

And I'm a cat person...and so I do laugh when a cat gets scared. Thanks for that -
 
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