Names to Know: Michael Flynn, Jared Kushner, David Friedman, and K.T. McFarland

Names to Know: Michael Flynn, Jared Kushner, David Friedman, and K.T. McFarland

by Whitney Ahn

These are shorter pieces of our Names to Know series, for officials either less prominent or for whom there is less information about.

Mike Flynn
        Former Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn grew up in a blue-collar family of Democrats, and grew up to be every Democrat's worst nightmare. Donald Trump selected him to be his National Security Advisor, the highest-ranking security official in America that doesn't have to be confirmed by the Senate. He co-wrote (though some say his role in authoring it was limited) an interesting and extremely well-publicized paper about American intelligence agencies, saying that they fail to think about cultural context and the lot as much as they should. This paper, and its publicity, lead to his appointment as the director of the DIA, the military equivalent of the better-know civilian agency, the CIA. In 2014, Director Flynn said that the United States is at a greater risk of terrorism than it was before 9/11. Shortly after, mostly in part due to his incredibly troubled reign at the DIA, he was forced to resign. He was essentially laughed out of Washington, and no one ever expected to hear from him again. But becoming one of the few Republican figures willing to work with Trump early on, Flynn gained the now-President's ear and trust, and is now back in D.C. His support for Trump was so fiery that he became a demouge-like figure to the left after his speech at the Republican National Convention, where he shouted that Hillary Clinton should be locked up. After all, he had no positive reputation in Washington to lose, and the power of this endorsement could not be nearly as effective if it were for any other candidate.

Jared Kushner
        Being named as a high-ranking advisor to Donald Trump caused Kushner, his son-in-law, to be the target of a number of questions regarding its legality in relation to nepotism laws. Kushner is best known as a real estate investor and husband of the much more prominent and widely beloved Ivanka Trump. For some reason, possibly because he is Jewish and Mr. Trump has a history of appointing people to jobs they are inexperienced for because their race or religion is perceived as being relevent to issues the job surrounds (see neurosurgeon Ben Carson as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development), Kushner is expected to be working on brokering peace between Israel and Palestine, as opposed to his Secretary of State pick, oil tycoon Rex Tillerson, or Ambassador to Israel, bankruptcy lawyer David Friedman, whose jobs now place this issue directly into their responsibilities. Speaking of...

David Friedman
        David Friedman handled Donald Trump's abnormally large number of bankruptcies and in return, he has been nominated to be the American Ambassador to Israel. Friedman is yet another controversial pick, due to comments he made that compared any Jewish person who is not a conservative to Jews who helped the Nazis in the Holocaust. This obviously angered the more left-leaning, as well as moderate, members of the government. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is widely known as one of the most right-wing heads of state in the world, publicly expressed support for the nominee for the ambassadorship.

K.T. McFarland
        K.T. McFarland is Donald Trump's Deputy National Security Advisor, which is not a Senate-confirmed position, and is notable for being one the few administration officials who undebatably have qualifications that are specific to her job. She received the highest civilian honor possible from the Department of Defense, the Distinguished Civilian Award. She has served in the Kissinger and Reagan administrations, and has commentated on Fox News. She's not considered by some major foreign policy figures such as Kori Schake (a Republican, and former advisor to John McCain), but all the same, she has more experience than the typical Trump nominee.

Names to Know: Rex Tillerson

Names to Know: Rex Tillerson

by Whitney Ahn

We're back! And just in time for the inauguration of Donald Trump. Regardless of your opinion on him, he still gets to choose who will fill the key roles across government. Because we have a whole new administration of people to look at and analyze, our Names to Know series gives profiles of various major figures in foreign policy and national security, starting with the Trump cabinet and major advisors. Editor-in-Chief Whitney Ahn has begun our Names to Know series with Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson.

        Rex Tillerson is the CEO of ExxonMobil, and Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of State. Donald Trump's press releases suggest the primary reason for selecting Mr. Tillerson for this key diplomatic role, despite his utter lack of policy-making experience, is his extensive role in making foreign deals, in places such as Iran, Syria, and Russia, all of which the United States clearly has interests in (with regards to nuclear weapons, ISIS, and Ukraine).

       These deals also have lead to relationships with foreign nations that some describe as troubling, especially Russia. In 2013, Vladimir Putin awarded Tillerson the Order of Friendship, the highest civilian honor Russia gives. Tillerson also has a personal friendship with Igor Sechin, the man who makes the Kremlin's military policy and the second-most powerful man in Russia. His third tie to the former Soviet nation is his ownership of $15,000 worth of stock in the Russian technology company Yandex, which he would likely have to sell upon or prior to confirmation.

       Tillerson also has relationships with Africa and the Middle East. ExxonMobil's subsidiary, Infimum, made 53.2 million dollars in Iran, 1.1 million dollars in Syria, and .6 million dollars in Sudan, from 2003-2005. In 2011, in direct violation of Iraqi law (at this point Iraq was not yet a failed state), Tillerson signed a deal with Iraqi Kurdistan. America has a strong relationship with the Kurds, but a key ally in the region, Turkey, does not. In fact, some have argued (myself included) that Turkey is more focused on defeating the Kurdish rebel groups in Iraq and Syria than ISIS. Strong relationships with the Kurds would likely upset the Turkish government, without a delicate touch and strong negotiation skills.

       Tillerson and Trump have serious policy differences on a number of issues. For example, he said in a confirmation hearing on January 11th that the United States should take strong actions to deter Russia from further expansion in Ukraine, and that Barack Obama did not go far enough in his initial reactions. He also said that is a "fair assumption" that Putin was aware of Russian attempts to interfere in the 2016 American presidential election. Both of these are sharp breaks from Donald Trump's policy of a cozier relationship with both Russia and Vladimir Putin specifically. However, Tillerson would not say whether or not he believes Vladimir Putin is a war criminal when pressed by Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL). Unlike Donald Trump, Tillerson does not believe climate change is hoax, but also thinks that scientific ability to predict its effects are highly limited. Again breaking from Trump's general patterns, given that Trump has made a series of comments many in Mexico's government have found offensive, Tillerson praised Mexico, calling the nation "a long-standing... friend of" the United States. Prior to the Senate committee hearing, Tillerson publicly expressed support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, whereas Donald Trump built his campaign around vitriol against trade agreements like the TPP.

       Despite the many concerns about Tillerson, he has received endorsements from an impressive number of major American foreign policy officials, such as former Secretary of State James Baker, who said he had the "management and negotiation skills, and... the international experience" necessary for the job. Former National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley called it a "strong choice", and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called it an "excellent choice". Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said he has "vast knowledge" and experience dealing with "governments and leaders in every corner of the world," and he also received endorsements from former Vice President Dick Cheney, former Assistant Secretary of State Robert Charles, Suzanne Maloney (of the notoriously liberal-leaning Brookings Institute), and Heritage Foundation President Jim DeMint.
       Trump's nominee faces an unusually steep pathway to confirmation, more than likely will be the next American Secretary of State. The policies he will implement are largely mysteries. No one really knows how the policies he advocated for, to benefit ExxonMobil, will impact the policies he will advocate for, to benefit America. One thing is clear: If he can separate himself fully from the interests of Exxon and only focus on the interest of America, we will have a powerful advocate. If not, except America's global standing to fall. Now, it's Congress' turn to decide if the great risk is worth the great reward.