Is President Trump Putting Too Many Generals In Key Positions?

Generals H.R. McMaster, Jim Mattis, And John Kelly. New York Times

Sean Illing, VOX: Is Trump hiring too many generals? I asked a military expert.

A retired general on whether Trump�s empowering of generals makes war more likely.

On the campaign trail, Donald Trump was openly disdainful of the military brass. �I know more about ISIS than the generals do,� he said in fall 2016. �Believe me.�

But as soon as he was elected, Trump began courting a handful of generals for key Cabinet positions, including retired Army Gen. David Petraeus for secretary of state and Adm. Michael S. Rogers for director of national intelligence.

Later, he appointed retired Gen. James Mattis as his defense secretary (a post almost always designated for civilians), Gen. John Kelly as secretary of Homeland Security, and Gen. H.R. McMaster as national security adviser.

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WNU Editor: I do not see much of a difference with this administration when compared to previous administrations when it comes to appointing Generals in key positions. And I certainly do not see the Generals in President Trump's White House driving U.S. government policy .... far from it.

On another note .... one thing that I caught my eye when I reading this interview was this ....

....Sean Illing: I think it�s more than �slightly pronounced,� but I take your broader point. What is unusual, though, is the utter neglect of the State Department. There�s something like 200 positions at the State Department that have yet to be filled, and the administration seems content to leave them empty. Doesn�t that create a decision structure in which the military perspective eclipses the diplomatic perspective?

Daniel Bolger: Yeah, there�s no doubt about that. Hell, the State Department has been understaffed for a long time. Here�s an alarming stat: there are more Marines in two regiments down in Camp Lejeune near me than there would be in the entire foreign service. That�s staggering.

You cannot compare U.S. Marines with U.S. diplomats .... they are two totally different professions with different responsibilities. And as for numbers .... yes .... the State Department is a smaller branch of the government than the U.S. military .... but the U.S. diplomatic corp is probably the biggest in the world .... even if there are a few hundred positions still unoccupied.