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![Trump’s Generals: A Breaking Defense eBook](https://sites.breakingmedia.com/uploads/sites/3/2017/01/Trump-and-James-Mattis--225x150.jpg)
Mike Flynn: You’re fired! H.R. McMaster, Jim Mattis, John Kelly: You’re hired!
![Flynn Appears To Hint At Cutting NSC Staff; Rice Says Size Matters Less](https://sites.breakingmedia.com/uploads/sites/3/2016/12/Flynn-LTG-DIA-Michael-140218-D-YQ689-007-225x150.jpg)
WASHINGTON: Incoming National Security Advisor Michael Flynn issued a ringing endorsement today of American exceptionalism and declared, “we have always been the indispensable nation and we always will be.” Flynn also appeared to hint at plans, supported by most GOP defense lawmakers, to reduce the size of the National Security Council staff. Without providing any details, Flynn…
By Colin Clark![Trump’s Generals: How Wartime Service Shaped Mattis, Kelly, & Flynn](https://sites.breakingmedia.com/uploads/sites/3/2016/12/Mattis-talks-to-wounded-060914-m-5585b-003-225x150.jpg)
Among the many anxieties inspired by the rise of Trump, one of the most profound is his fondness for generals. Does naming so many retired military men to top positions undermine the principal of civilian control? How might their shared experiences in our post-9/11 conflicts shape the way they govern? This week, award-winning defense reporter…
By James Kitfield![Trump’s Pentagon, Trump’s World; Defense Stocks Soar](https://sites.breakingmedia.com/uploads/sites/3/2016/03/Donald-Trump-campaign-pic-225x150.jpg)
WASHINGTON: Hope for the best; prepare for the worst. It’s a standard military prescription for dealing with a sometimes hostile and usually unpredictable world. It’s also what an African-American chum told me this morning was his plan for life under President Trump. This guy is a fellow Chicagoan and Cubs fan, so he knows how to…
By Colin Clark![Flynn’s Last Interview: Iconoclast Departs DIA With A Warning](https://sites.breakingmedia.com/uploads/sites/3/2014/08/633207-e1407429622387-225x150.jpg)
In this exclusive exit interview with Breaking Defense contributor James Kitfield, the outgoing chief of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, talks about metastasizing Islamic terrorism, his struggles to reform intelligence-gathering, and the risk of lurching from crisis to crisis in an Internet-accelerated world. – the editors. “Disruptive.” That’s how Michael Flynn’s enemies…
By James Kitfield![US Flying Blind To Looming Terror Plots](https://sites.breakingmedia.com/uploads/sites/3/2011/09/95641191-225x150.jpg)
There’s an old trope in intelligence circles that defenders have to be right all the time, while the terrorists only need to get lucky once to execute a successful attack. The knowledge that no one is right all the time makes most counterterrorism experts cautiously pessimistic about the likelihood of another successful terrorist attack on…
By James Kitfield![NGA Chief Moves $Millions To Build Futuristic Intel Tools: The Globe](https://sites.breakingmedia.com/uploads/sites/3/2014/04/Letitia-Long-NGA-director-225x150.jpg)
TAMPA: It’s the stuff of science fiction: intelligence analysts hands spinning a shimmering virtual globe and pulling strands of complex streams of data over it to build a three-dimensional planning model which they can share with soldiers on the battlefield. It’s clear the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency is nowhere near deploying such capabilities, but its…
By Colin ClarkWASHINGTON: They could have a decent career singing the sequestration lament in 4/4 time. Three of the top men in American intelligence brought it home yesterday, wailing the sequestration blues. OK, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper’s speech sometimes lacked rhythmn. But Rep. Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, hit…
By Colin Clark
President Donald Trump named retired Marine Gen. Jim Mattis as Defense Secretary, the highest-ranking civilian position in the Pentagon. Retired Marine Gen. John Kelly was named first to head the Homeland Security Department and then replaced Reince Priebus as White House Chief of Staff. Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster replaced Air Force Gen. Mike Flynn…
By Joan Johnson-Freese