The Pentagon and the CIA Are in Charge of Foreign Policy by Jacob G. Hornberger!
(2020-11-21 at 21:11:15 )

The Pentagon and the CIA Are in Charge of Foreign Policy by Jacob G. Hornberger!

President Donald Trump has announced that he is ordering a partial withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan and Iraq during the waning days of his administration.

Why only partial? And why now in the waning days of his presidency? After all, when Donald Trump campaigned in 2016. his expressed aim was to bring all the troops home from those two countries. He repeatedly vowed to bring an end to the United States of Americas "forever wars."

There is a simple explanation for Donald Trumps failure, one that unfortunately so many Americans are loathe to consider: It is not the president who is in charge of foreign policy. Instead it is the Pentagon and the Central Intelligence Agency that are in charge.

Donald Trump had four years to bring home those troops. Clearly he wanted to. The reason he did not - the reason he still can not - is because the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Central Intelligence Agency will not let him.

Longtime readers of my blog know that I have periodically referenced a book titled National Security and Double Government by Michael J. Glennon, who is a professor of law at Tufts University and served as counsel to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He knows what he is talking about. I highly recommend his book.

Mr. Glennons thesis is a simple one: The real power of the federal government lies with the national-security establishment - namely the Pentagon, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the National Security Agency.

They permit the president, the Congress, and the Supreme Court to maintain the veneer of power. That veneer is unimportant to the Pentagon, the CIA, and the NSA. What is important to them is who holds the power, not who appears to hold the power.

Donald Trumps inability to bring the troops home from Afghanistan and Iraq provides confirmation of Mr. Glennons thesis. Donald Trump wanted to bring them home. He vowed to bring them home. He had four years to bring them home. He was unable to do so. The Pentagon and the CIA simply would not permit it.

In his Farewell Address in 1961, President Eisenhower warned about the danger to the United States of Americas democratic processes from what he called the "military-industrial complex." That was almost 60 years ago.

As we have seen with President Donald Trump, the national-security state has grown ever more powerful since then.

Reprinted here with permission from Mr. Jacob G. Hornberger of The Future of Freedom Foundation!! Their Great Website!!