Thread: 50 G.O.P. Officials Warn Donald Trump Would Put Nation’s Security ‘at Risk’

50 G.O.P. Officials Warn Donald Trump Would Put Nation’s Security ‘at Risk’

By DAVID E. SANGER AUG. 8, 2016

Fifty of the nation’s most senior Republican national security officials, many of them former top aides or cabinet members for President George W. Bush, have signed a letter declaring that Donald J. Trump “lacks the character, values and experience” to be president and “would put at risk our country’s national security and well-being.”

Mr. Trump, the officials warn, “would be the most reckless president in American history.”

The letter says Mr. Trump would weaken the United States’ moral authority and questions his knowledge of and belief in the Constitution. It says he has “demonstrated repeatedly that he has little understanding” of the nation’s “vital national interests, its complex diplomatic challenges, its indispensable alliances and the democratic values” on which American policy should be based. And it laments that “Mr. Trump has shown no interest in educating himself.”

“None of us will vote for Donald Trump,” the letter states, though it notes later that many Americans “have doubts about Hillary Clinton, as do many of us.”

Among the most prominent signatories are Michael V. Hayden, a former director of both the C.I.A. and the National Security Agency; John D. Negroponte, who served as the first director of national intelligence and then deputy secretary of state; and Robert B. Zoellick, another former deputy secretary of state, United States trade representive and, until 2012, president of the World Bank. Two former secretaries of homeland security, Tom Ridge and Michael Chertoff, also signed, as did Eric S. Edelman, who served as Vice President Dick Cheney’s national security adviser and as a top aide to Robert M. Gates when he was secretary of defense.

Document: A Letter From G.O.P. National Security Officials Opposing Donald Trump

Robert Blackwill and James Jeffrey, two key strategists in Mr. Bush’s National Security Council, and William H. Taft IV, a former deputy secretary of defense and ambassador to NATO, also signed.

The letter underscores the continuing rupture in the Republican Party, but particularly within its national security establishment. Many of those signing it had declined to add their names to a similar open letter released in March. But a number said in recent interviews that they changed their minds once they heard Mr. Trump invite Russia to hack into Mrs. Clinton’s email server — a sarcastic remark, he said later — and say that he would check to see how much NATO members contributed to the alliance before sending forces to help stave off a Russian attack.

Yet the signatories are unlikely to impress Mr. Trump or the largely lesser-known foreign policy team he has assembled around him: He has said throughout his campaign that he intends to upend Republican foreign policy orthodoxy on everything from trade to Russia. And many of the aides who signed the letter were active in developing the plan to invade Iraq or managing its aftermath, which Mr. Trump has described as a “disaster.”

A spokeswoman for Mr. Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Missing from the signatories are any of the living Republican former secretaries of state: Henry Kissinger, George P. Shultz, James A. Baker III, Colin L. Powell and Condoleezza Rice.

Mr. Trump met with Mr. Kissinger and Mr. Baker several months ago, and “I came away with a lot of knowledge,” he told The New York Times in a July 20 interview. But neither of the two — who represent different foreign policy approaches within the party — has said if he will endorse Mr. Trump.

It is unclear whether the former secretaries plan to stay silent or will issue their own statements. But particularly striking is how many of Ms. Rice’s closest aides at the White House and the State Department, including Philip Zelikow, Eliot A. Cohen, Meghan O’Sullivan, Kori Schake and Michael Green, are all signatories.

“We agreed to focus on Trump’s fitness to be president, not his substantive positions,” said John B. Bellinger III, who served as Ms. Rice’s legal adviser at the National Security Council and the State Department, and who drafted the letter.

Mr. Bellinger said that among the signatories, “some will vote for” Mrs. Clinton, “and some will not vote, but all agree Trump is not qualified and would be dangerous.”

The Clinton campaign appeared to be aware that the letter was circulating and encouraged it, but played no role in drafting it, several signatories said.

Yet perhaps most striking about the letter is the degree to which it echoes Mrs. Clinton’s main argument about her rival: that his temperament makes him unsuitable for the job, and that he should not be entrusted with the control of nuclear weapons.

“He is unable or unwilling to separate truth from falsehood,” the letter says. “He does not encourage conflicting views. He lacks self-control and acts impetuously. He cannot tolerate personal criticism. He has alarmed our closest allies with his erratic behavior. All of these are dangerous qualities in an individual who aspires to be president and commander in chief, with command of the U.S. nuclear arsenal.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/09/us...rump.html?_r=0

“We agreed to focus on Trump’s fitness to be president, not his substantive positions,” said John B. Bellinger III, who served as Ms. Rice’s legal adviser at the National Security Council and the State Department, and who drafted the letter.

This one statement shows what a total Sore Loser Scam this letter is, and it is totally shocking that they would align themselves with Losers.

Donald Trump is the most fit Presidential candidate in US history second only to Dwight Eisenhower. Trump understand our economy, its foundation, its base, how it generates money, jobs, revenues which is why he knows we must end these horrible free trade deals sucking our industrial base out of the United States. Trumps understands that to be a safe, secure and sovereign nation, we must secure our borders, enforce US immigration law and swiftly deport all illegal aliens. Trump understands that wasting our time and money on so many countries while sanctioning and condemning Russia is counter-productive to peace and security and thus contrary to our national interest. Trump understands that we're in a bad situation with NATO being expected to fund and defend these countries when they won't even honor their agreements and pay what they're supposed to. NATO also needs to change his goals, and focus on counter-terrorism efforts like Trump said.

Trump is right, absolutely right on all of these issues, including national security and foreign policy.

These former political hacks are all aligned with Sore Losers, and they have disgraced themselves with this letter, where they won't even discuss any policy issue, they just want to follow in Obama's Footsteps, declare Trump "unfit" and as the NEVERTRUMP LOONIES have claimed "dangerous" with absolutely nothing to support such claims and a Trump Life Time that proves otherwise.

How is someone who wants to get rid of nuclear weapons since no one is ever going to use them, "dangerous"?

How is someone who wants to fix our country, "unfit"?

What a shame you all have done this. But, it's part of history now, in the record forever, and when you're wearing your own tossed salad and scrambled eggs, you'll regret selling out a highly qualified, very fit candidate for President and the Republican Party members who voted for him and nominated him to represent our party.

SHAMEFUL!!

I hope Trump fires each and every one of them that put out this hit piece on his campaign.

W

Will someone please locate Donald Trump's response to this. It is good. I am looking around for it. Just heard it read.

Thank you.

Originally Posted by ALIPAC

I hope Trump fires each and every one of them that put out this hit piece on his campaign.

W

I think most of them are former officials and has-beens. Please note this is a New York Times article so you can't believe it's characterizations of the individuals. These people do not presently work for the government, so are not presently national security officials nor are they "officials" of the GOP. At least none of the names I recognized are. They almost all worked for GW Bush or the Bush family in one way or another. They're Bushies who don't want Trump in the White House poking around in all their lies to start wars.

August 08, 2016, 06:42 pm
By Mark Hensch

Donald Trump on Monday lashed out at 50 top Republican national security officials for criticizing his presidential campaign.

“The names on this letter are the ones the American people should look to for answers on why the world is a mess, and we thank them for coming forward so everyone in this country knows who deserves the blame for making the world such a dangerous place,” he said in a statement.

“They are nothing more than the failed Washington elite looking to hold onto their power, and it’s time they are held accountable for their actions.”
Trump said the coalition dismissing his national security positions are many of the same voices guiding Hillary Clinton’s poor foreign policies.

“These insiders – along with Hillary Clinton – are the owners of the disastrous decisions to invade Iraq, allow Americans to die in Benghazi, and they are the ones who allowed the rise of [the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria],” the GOP’s presidential nominee said.

“Yet despite these failures, they think they are entitled to use their favor trading to land taxpayer-funded government contracts and speaking fees,” Trump added.

“It’s time we put our foot down and declare that their gravy train is over: No longer will Crooked Hillary Clinton and the other disasters in Washington get rich at our expense.”

A group of 50 top Republican national security officials published a letter earlier Monday declaring Trump is unfit for the presidency.

The letter was signed by aides and Cabinet members from past GOP administrations including former Presidents George W. Bush’s and Richard Nixon’s.

“Mr. Trump lacks the character, values and experience to be president,” the letter says. "He weakens U.S. moral authority as the leader of the free world.

“He appears to lack basic knowledge about the belief in U.S. Constitution, U.S. laws and U.S. institutions, including religious tolerance, freedom of the press and an independent judiciary.”

The letter comes as some top Republicans have publicly chosen to support Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, rather than Trump.

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/...ecurity-letter

Great response imo. As for the others, get over it, you lost.

Originally Posted by Jean

Great response imo. As for the others, get over it, you lost.

..."their gravy train is over"

Thank you for posting the response from Donald Trump, Jean.

Originally Posted by GeorgiaPeach

Thank you for posting the response from Donald Trump, Jean.

You're welcome GeorgiaPeach. His response just came out.

Great work, Jean, finding that article! I googled but came up empty. Thank you!

GeorgiaPeach was right! That is an EXCELLENT RESPONSE!!

GO TEAM TRUMP! KEEP THIS TRUMP TRAIN ROLLIN' ROLLIN' ROLLIN' to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue!!

Just nail these Republican Traitors! Shut 'em up and shut 'em down. Great job today!

And to all those party traitors, screw you! No one cares what you think any more. You're Sore Losers. You invaded Iraq on a LIE. You created a quagmire in the Middle East from Iraq to Afghanistan. You cost US trillions of dollars we didn't have with your nonsense and cost tens of thousands of our most wonderful citizens their lives or good health from wounds and injuries. If you think for a second that you've done something right by issuing this letter, you have, you've exposed yourselves. Now we know who you are and just how much you must have to hide to betray your own party to keep Trump out of the White House with access to all that you have done. Oh, and you can bet he'll be looking, too!! Now he has a nice list of all your names on a single sheet of paper to know who to look into.

SAVE AMERICA!

VOTE FOR DONALD J TRUMP FOR PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES!