H.R. McMaster is not the enemy

It’s a truly imaginative conspiracy that ropes together al-Qaeda and Jewish bankers, but the dedication of these commentators to accuracy — or even plausibility — has always been minimal. So it is that “McMaster Leaks” includes “facts” such as: “McMaster fired Rich Higgins for writing a memo criticizing Islamic terrorism.” Back in reality, Higgins penned and circulated a memo that accused “globalists” and other elements of the “deep state” of aligning with “Islamists” to destroy the Trump administration. Ezra Cohen-Watnick, meanwhile, was one of two White House officials who secretly provided intelligence reports to House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes (R., Calif.) suggesting that former national-security adviser Susan Rice had improperly “unmasked” the identities of Trump officials in classified documents during last year’s campaign. (McMaster had previously attempted to fire Cohen-Watnick, but he was overruled by the president, acting at the behest of Bannon and Jared Kushner.) The removal of Derek Harvey, described by General Jack Keane in 2008 as “the very best intelligence analyst that the United States government has on Iraq,” comes as more of a surprise; however, he was a full-throated supporter of ditching the Iran deal and had reportedly clashed with Defense Secretary James Mattis on several occasions.

H. R. McMaster is far from perfect. His preference for keeping the Iran deal in place seems to this observer a significant mistake, for example. However, for those who have consecrated themselves to the priestly rites of Donald Trump’s cult of personality, McMaster’s staffing changes constitute nothing short of blasphemy.