[Peace] Moderate R SecDef Susan Collins Would Help Yemen More Than Saudi Fan Flournoy

[Robert Naiman]

Moderate R SecDef Susan Collins Would Help Yemen More Than Saudi Fan
Flournoy

Suppose that President-Elect Biden now asks moderate Maine Republican
Senator Susan Collins [did you know that Maine has a Democratic governor?]
to serve as his “first woman” Secretary of Defense, instead of Hillary’s
planned “first woman” SecDef Michele Flournoy, who almost worked for Trump,
who never met a war or a Saudi arms deal that she didn’t like. Are there
any recent Democratic Presidential precedents we could point to in order to
prove that this is “not such a radical idea,” as Uncle Bernie might say?

Indeed there are. President Bill Clinton and Republican Maine Senator and
Bill Clinton’s Secretary of Defense William Cohen, Susan Collins’ longtime
boss, mentor and predecessor in that Maine Senate seat. President Barack
Obama and Obama’s Republican Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. President
Barack Obama and Republican Senator and Obama’s Republican Secretary of
Defense Chuck Hagel.

When Barack Obama became POTUS, instead of nominating a D SecDef, he kept
Bush’s moderate R SecDef, Robert Gates.

Some Democrats who don’t really follow and don’t really care about ending
and preventing U.S. wars were like, “Oh no! Katy bar the door! Members of
Obama’s Cabinet must all be Democrats! Elections matter! To the victor go
the spoils! Woe to the vanquished! We can’t have a Republican Secretary of
Defense!”

But me and my Chicago homeboy Barack calmly responded: “Yes, we can!” No
drama with Obama.

I knew what Obama knew, that Robert Gates was cautious [by Washington, DC
standards] about the use of military force. I knew what Obama knew, that
Obama would have a much harder time getting a Democrat with the exact same
cautious views on the use of military force as Robert Gates through Senate
confirmation than he would keeping Robert Gates in place. I knew what Obama
knew, that Robert Gates had been brought in by the Republican “adults in
the room” like Brent Scowcroft and James Baker to right the ship at the
Pentagon after Bush finally fired neocon warhawk and principal Iraq war
architect Donald Rumsfeld following the 2006 Congressional election where
Democrats rode public opposition to the Iraq war to taking over Congress,
making Nancy Pelosi Speaker for the first time, even though Pelosi wasn’t
personally against the war, even though Pelosi and her DCCC chair Rahm
Emmanuel did their level best to prevent Democrats from committing to end
the war.

My belief that keeping Robert Gates as SecDef would be good for the “less
war, more peace” movement was 100% vindicated when Robert Gates led the
opposition in the Obama Administration to the unconstitutional and
catastrophic war in Libya. Who was on the same side as Robert Gates,
against the Libya war? Vice President Joe Biden. Who was on the other side,
who were the cheerleaders for the unconstitutional and catastrophic war
that destroyed Libya and set the table for the destruction of Syria?
Hillary Clinton, Susan Rice, and the cheerleader for the Saudi war in Yemen
at the UN, “humanitarian warrior” Samantha Power.

On December 5, 1996, President Bill Clinton announced his selection for
Secretary of Defense of Republican Maine Senator William Cohen, who retired
from the Senate, passing his seat on to his longtime staffer Susan Collins.
William Cohen was confirmed as SecDef by the Senate by unanimous vote. Why
did President Bill Clinton do this? “It’s the economy, stupid.” President
Bill Clinton wanted to focus on the U.S. economy. He didn’t want any new
wars. He didn’t want a Secretary of Defense who would be pushing for new
wars. He didn’t want a Secretary of Defense who would be pushing for big
new foreign commitments and for big increases in the Pentagon budget.
That’s why President Clinton didn’t want a “Democrat” like Michele Flournoy
[who almost worked for Trump! And loves Saudi arms deals! And loves bloated
Pentagon spending!], and preferred a Republican like William Cohen or Susan
Collins, who would manage the Pentagon without pushing for new wars or
pushing for big new foreign commitments or pushing for big increases in the
Pentagon budget.

As Secretary of Defense, Republican William Cohen often clashed with Bill
Clinton’s neocon warhawk “Democratic” Secretary of State, Madeleine
Albright, whom Cohen, like others in the Pentagon, correctly saw as far too
eager to use military force. The Iraq war that happened under Bush in March
2003 was a war that neocon warhawk “Democrat” Madeleine Albright wanted
very badly when she was Bill Clinton’s Secretary of State. But she couldn’t
get it, because there was too much opposition inside the Bill Clinton
Administration from people like Republican Secretary of Defense William
Cohen, representing the more cautious views on military force of career
people in the Pentagon. Madeleine Albright’s consolation prize was the U.S.
blockade on Iraq that killed half a million Iraqi children. Which warhawk
Madeleine Albright justified to Leslie Stahl of CBS’ 60 Minutes by
asserting that “the price is right.”

Why would any Democrat who claims to want less war and more peace have any
objection to moderate Republican Susan Collins as Secretary of Defense
rather than neocon warhawk Saudi fan Flournoy, who almost worked for Trump,
who never met a war she didn’t like, who never met a Saudi arms deal that
she didn’t like? Why would any Democrat who doesn’t really follow and
doesn’t really care about ending and preventing war want to butt their
noses into our turf on this?

They say they want “first woman Secretary of Defense.”

Ain’t Susan Collins a woman? She’s the most senior Republican woman in the
Senate. She led the successful effort to repeal the cruel and
discriminatory ban on gay men and lesbians serving openly and proudly and
bravely and patriotically and with honor and distinction in our Armed
Forces. God bless America, and God bless  our Armed Forces.

They say they care about the partisan makeup of the Senate.

Doesn’t Maine have a Democratic governor?

Susan Collins voted with Sanders, Lee and Murphy to end the
unconstitutional and biblically catastrophic Saudi war in Yemen.

Wouldn’t SecDef Susan Collins be more likely to help us end the
unconstitutional and biblically catastrophic Saudi war in Yemen than Saudi
fan Flournoy, who almost worked for Trump, and never met a war she didn’t
like, and never met a Saudi arms deal that she didn’t like?

Susan Collins is on the Senate Intelligence Committee. Can’t get more
Serious than that. She already knows all the secrets. She’s the only
Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee who voted to end the Saudi
war in Yemen.
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