Since the beginning of his presidential campaign, Trump had been savaged by the National Security establishment, castigated as unfit to lead, dangerous, incompetent, and ignorant. These criticisms were woven together in an August 8 letter signed by fifty former National Security officers, denouncing a possible Trump presidency. His national security team was also severely ridiculed by establishment media from the
New Republic's "Trump's Court Jesters", as "a rogues' gallery of outcasts and opportunists, has-beens and never-weres, conspiracy-mongers and crackpots," to the "Who?" of
'Top experts confounded by advisors to Donald Trump" from the
New York Times. Trump responded to the letter stating that these are the same people who brought us two decades of war - and his advisor Sam Clovis sardonically remarked that the National Security team is composed of people who "work for a living."
Putting aside these castigations, Trump's most egregious national security
faux pas is his contestation of the Russophobic paradigm that has dominated US foreign policy since the end of WWII and the establishment of the National Security Act of 1947. Trump's contestation further amplifies his purported
hubris to even raise the question of NATO - and his contemplation of the end of the seven decade US occupation of Europe ("We cannot afford it"). Such perspectives fly in the face of the entire history of the National Security establishment, which, since the founding of the National Security Council (NSC), has sought to contain its former allies (Russia, and then, China) and maintain US hegemony on the European continent.
Comment: As we speak, there are individuals in the dark recesses of Washington think tanks, the Pentagon, and any number of intelligence agencies who are meeting to discuss their strategy for dealing with Trump. These creatures of the National Security establishment are just now writing a tailor-made script for Trump to follow - using all their knowledge of psychology, influence and coercion that fits his profile and that will bend him to do what they want. And if, for whatever reason, he decides to veer too far off their plans, they will find
other, much harsher, ways to get control of the situation.
Comment: The implications of the Panama Papers have a farther reach than just Panama, it is a global problem. That being so, 22 suspects represents a very low number, considering the high corruption factor and its infiltration into the public sector. 11.5 million documents should be knocking on more than 22 doors.