Down but not outIT HAS been a rough few months for conventional wisdom in Washington, DC, but one old saw never lost its force: “Personnel is policy”. That being so, politicians and officials took note when a memorandum revealed that Steve Bannon, chief strategist to Donald Trump and an unblushing nationalist, has lost his guaranteed seat on the principals committee of the National Security Council (NSC), while two pillars of the foreign policy establishment—the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and the director of national intelligence—were restored as permanent members.
The capital has seethed for weeks with talk of palace intrigues at the White House, pitting Mr Bannon and his populist allies against a more polished, less hardline faction led by Mr Trump’s daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner, both of whom hold senior advisers’ posts. Insiders see something simpler and worth applauding.
It was abnormal for Mr Bannon, a political strategist, to enjoy better NSC access than the country’s senior uniformed commander and top spook. Now that has been corrected. Mr Bannon himself, in a statement, downplayed his new,...Continue reading
Source: United States http://ift.tt/2nPbkjb
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