CIA, State Department, Pentagon take their civil war to the campaign trail

Donald Trump recently gave a noninterventionist foreign policy speech suggesting that he wants to make new allies of old foes and find common ground with them on shared national security challenges. He noted that 88 U.S. generals and admirals have endorsed him, and that “the current strategy of toppling regimes, with no plan for what to do the day after, only produces power vacuums that are filled by terrorists.”

Trump should tell that to the 51 State Department officials who called for ramping up U.S. military intervention in Syria in an internal memo that was reviewed by CNN in June prior to being classified.

Hoping to force Syrian President Bashar Assad back to the negotiating table, these State Department officials figured that in lieu of diplomacy, it would be a good idea to prolong a conflict that has already driven millions of migrants into Europe and is demographically overwhelming that part of the world.

The State Department, which works closely with the CIA in providing official diplomatic cover to CIA officers abroad, has long been at odds with the Pentagon over Syria. It’s no wonder that Pentagon generals are backing Trump, while just a few weeks ago a handful of former CIA directors publicly did the same for Hillary Clinton by signing a letter denouncing Trump.

Read More: Jackson Hole News & Guide

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