The national security state is the enemy of America and
Americans, not their protector, and that is why Trump should systematically
kill it. Trump should attack the NSA, the FBI, and the CIA with the executive
powers of running the government that he possesses. He should attack their
supporters in Congress, Republican and Democrat, and attack their media allies.
Trump should put the Pentagon and the military on notice that he, as
Commander-in-Chief, will not prosecute permanent war across the globe for such
vain excuses as anti-terrorism and democracy.
Trump’s presidency is being attacked in force by the national
security state. His responses have been scattered, weak, unprincipled and
inconsistent. The national security state is politically savvy, experienced,
coordinated, and entrenched. It aims to control Trump and/or displace him, so
that its programs and policies continue to dominate America.
Trump has only partially and spasmodically recognized the enemy,
which is not only America’s enemy but also his own and that of his presidency.
He adulated the military unconditionally, rather than taking command of it with
his own purposes in mind. He mistakenly thought that a friendly speech at the
CIA headquarters would ease his path. He appointed many military people and
gave them a free hand.
Lacking a clear vision of what is wrong with the U.S.
government, which at this historical juncture includes its takeover by the
national security state, Trump has not formulated a plan to lay siege to it and
destroy its power. He has actually given the national security state his
support in many ways. His sniping around the edges accomplishes almost nothing
toward the goal of killing the national security state. That’s a goal he does
not yet recognize, has not yet articulated and has done nothing yet to
implement.
Although Trump has responded to charges of collusion with
Russia, he and his associates now face an indefinitely prolonged investigation
led by Robert Mueller, who has assembled a team directly to attack Trump and
company at any and all of its vulnerable points. Trump is being backed into a
corner. If Trump believed in and endorsed a principled attack on the national
security state, he could sell it to America. He could then get Mueller’s
investigation terminated, because that investigation is solely a creature of
the national security state. It is another head of the Hydra. Trump failed to
see the underlying problem. He failed to handle it earlier through his own
systematic offensive.
Trump should go public in major speeches that articulate a clear
goal of killing the national security state. Tweets are at best subsidiary to a
comprehensive plan. Trump should bring out a plan that decimates the national
security state. He should then campaign across America and focus squarely on
building peaceful relations with Russia and China. From this prime goal,
peaceful relations with Iran and withdrawing from Middle East and Central Asian
meddling follow naturally.
Trump should confront the national security state openly and
across the board. He should attack comprehensively, on all fronts, because the
national security state is vulnerable on many fronts. Trump needs to attack the
institutions that comprise the national security state, that is, the funded
agencies, their powers and their capacity to set agendas and make policies. He
has to take away their power to establish policies on their own and without
being accountable to him and the American people.
It would be easy for Trump to get America behind him in
attacking the national security state. This is because it’s a tremendous pit of
privileges, favors and corruption. It drains resources from Americans. It
destroys rights. It makes the world a much less safe place. It’s busy building
up phantasms and creating new fake enemies. It’s destroying societies and
states worldwide. It’s increasing blowback against America. It’s busy
subverting American government from within. It completely distorts domestic
politics. It’s a secret government within a government. It’s not accountable.
But Trump has a thoroughly mixed approach to the national
security state, such that he cannot decide to destroy it without altering other
of his strong beliefs and policies. Trump has supported the national security
state in important ways. His unwavering support of Israel and Saudi Arabia
plays into the hands of his enemy at home, the national security state. His
anti-Iran policy, his anti-terrorism focus, and his overly strong support of
militarized police reinforce the national security state.
The president has the power to sequester funds. He has the power
of the veto. He has a platform from which to pressure members of Congress. He
has the power to hire and fire within the Executive branch of government. He
can speak out against the corrupt practices of career government appointees who
rotate from government to industry to lobbying to foundations and think tanks.
The
fact of the matter is that Trump is being attacked by the national security
state and it will do everything to destroy him and the people around him. As
matters now stand, he will lose power and effectiveness or even leave office.
His best defense at this point is to attack and attack strongly, to confront
without hesitation and to give no quarter. He has nothing to lose by such an
attack. However, Trump is conflicted because he supports important facets of
the national security state.
The lifeblood of the national security state is the prevalent
idea, iterated continually, that it’s needed to provide Americans with security
against enemies. Trump himself has reinforced this idea. This idea is false,
and that is a major point of vulnerability of the national security state. The
fact of the matter is that the national security state undermines the security
of Americans. This has been very easy to see ever since 9/11. The latter
tragedy itself would not have occurred had it not been for the activities of
the national security state.
Michael S.
Rozeff [send him
mail] is a retired Professor of Finance living in East Amherst, New
York. He is the author of the free e-book Essays on
American Empire: Liberty vs. Domination and the free
e-book The
U.S. Constitution and Money: Corruption and Decline.
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