NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE/MCMASTER: “As a U.S. Army general, H.R. McMaster has faced down Iraqi tank divisions, Al Qaeda terrorists and Taliban insurgents.
But as President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, McMaster is navigating the strange environment of Washington politics and media, putting his truth-telling reputation on the line to defend Trump against claims he disclosed sensitive information to Russian officials in the Oval Office.
McMaster’s public defense of Trump over the past 24 hours comes as he has been fending off White House colleagues unhappy about his consolidation of control over the National Security Council, which he took over in February after Trump fired his predecessor, Michael Flynn.
McMaster appeared outside the West Wing on Monday [5-15-17] evening to read a brief statement calling a Washington Post story on the May 11 Oval Office incident ‘false.’ On Tuesday, he faced reporters in the White House briefing room, where he again condemned the Post report but seemed to dilute his message that it was false, insisting that Trump’s disclosure had been ‘wholly appropriate.’
The three-star general’s reputation as an apolitical figure and student of military thinkers like Clausewitz and Thucydides lends his defense of Trump credibility. He has criticized generals for failing to challenge their civilian leaders — a case he made in his study of the Vietnam War, ‘Dereliction of Duty.’ ‘Our leaders can’t feel compelled to tell their bosses what they want to hear,’ McMaster said in a 2013 interview with McKinsey & Co.”
-Michael Crowley, “McMaster tests truth-telling reputation in Trump defense,” Politico, May 16, 2017 7:22pm