NATO's former supreme allied commander has taken a swipe at retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, saying his ouster as head of the National Security Council and replacement by Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster have transformed President Donald Trump's national security team into a "first-class" operation.
"The good news: It's an absolutely first-class national security team, now that Gen. Flynn has been dismissed and Gen. H.R. McMaster has taken over," retired U.S. Navy Admiral James Stavridis said Tuesday in an address before the AFCEA West 2017 conference in San Diego.
Stavridis called McMaster, a "brilliant" military strategist and "very steady planner and thinker" who is the "complete package."
He also praised McMaster's 1997 Vietnam War book "Dereliction of Duty: Johnson, McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies That Led to Vietnam" as speaking "truth to power."
Speaking Tuesday on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program, Stavridis said Trump has put the "absolute A-team" together when it comes to foreign policy.
But, he added, the commander in chief will also need to be open to taking their advice, because "so far we've seen so many contradictions."
Flynn was asked to resign after accusations emerged he had misled Vice President Mike Pence about the nature of a December phone call with Russia's ambassador to the U.S.
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