President-elect Trump has a serious problem.
There are a very small number of people in this country — libertarians, paleoconservatives, very skeptical realists — who believe in any kind of “America First” foreign policy and could actually conceivably get a job in the national government where they could try to implement one.
If Trump is really interested in rolling back the empire and limiting foreign intervention he would be considering these men for positions in his government.
There are real reasons to worry. But just in case these hashtags finally ever go viral, and/or the winds of public opinion on this issue start to really be felt by his incoming administration, here is a national security cabinet any Republican non-interventionist should be able to get behind:
Chas Freeman, Andrew Bacevich or Ted Galen Carpenter – Secretary of State
Col. Andrew J. Bacevich or Col. Douglas MacGregor – Secretary of Defense
Lt. Col. Daniel L. Davis – Deputy Secretary of Defense
Chuck Pena or Robert A. Pape – Deputy Secretary of Defense for Policy
Paul Pillar or Doug Bandow – National Security Adviser
Doug Bandow, Trevor Thrall or Christopher Coyne – Deputy National Security Adviser
Paul Pillar or Chas Freeman – Director of National Intelligence
Paul Pillar or Ted Galen Carpenter – Central Intelligence Agency Director
Chas Freeman or Thomas Fingar – National Intelligence Council Director
Christopher Preble or Ivan Eland – Ambassador to the United Nations
David Stockman or David Henderson – Secretary of Treasury
Robert E. Kelly – Secretary of Energy
Bruce Fein – Attorney General
Judge Napolitano – White House Council
Staffers: Daniel Larison, Kelley B. Vlahos, Matt Purple, Bonnie Kristian, Abigail Hall-Blanco.
War weakens America. The people are tired of it. These men and women could cover Trump’s right flank in a “only Nixon can go to China”-way as he implements a policy of retrenchment — if he and his top advisers are so inclined.
