Nsa Robert O'brien - It was seen as a victory for US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Robert O'Brien arrives at a Stockholm court in July to attend the trial of American rapper A$AP Rocky, a missionary who has angered the Swedish government. Photo: Michael Campanella/Getty Images
Nsa Robert O'brien
Donald Trump has nominated the State Department's chief hostage negotiator - whose most prominent international role so far has been overseeing the trial in Sweden of US rapper A$AP Rocky - to succeed John Bolton as national security adviser.
Nsa O'brien: Sanctions, Protests Have Iran 'choked Off,' Will Force Them To Negotiate
Unlike his fiery predecessor, Robert O'Brien is seen as a low-key loyalist, and his appointment in Washington is seen as a victory for Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who has been competing with Bolton for the president's ear.
Trump named O'Brien, a California lawyer, on Twitter shortly after a tweet announcing new sanctions on Iran in response to Saturday's attack on Saudi oil facilities.
"He's been working with me on hostages for a long time. And we have a huge record of hostages," Trump said, adding that he's "bringing a lot of people home" without having to spend any money.
O'Brien, who was on the president's plane to California, said: "We look forward to another year and a half of peace through strength. We have made tremendous progress in foreign policy under the leadership of President Trump. I expect that to continue."
Who Is Robert O'brien? What To Know About Trump's New National Security Adviser
O'Brien rarely made headlines when Trump sent him to Stockholm to oversee the trial of A$AP Rocky, a political stunt that angered the Swedish government.
When the court released the rapper and two of his associates, before they were found guilty, O'Brien declared that it was "a very good night for the United States of America and the Kingdom of Sweden."
O'Brien, a Mormon, was an adviser to Mitt Romney's campaign but was fiercely loyal to Trump and made sure to thank him for the hostage situation.
In April, Trump quoted O'Brien as saying, "President Donald J. Trump is the greatest hostage negotiator I know of in the history of the United States." In the last two years, 20 hostages have been released, many under impossible conditions. No money was paid."
National Security Adviser O'brien Promises Peaceful Transition Of Power
The White House later claimed the quote came from O'Brien, who said Trump had an "unparalleled record" of returning hostages.
"Trump, having endured the Bolton experience, clearly has no use for a strong personality or ideology as national security adviser." Pompeo may not be double-hatted as Secretary of State and NSA, but he may have this arrangement,” former National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said on Twitter.
Before the Trump administration, O'Brien had a mostly low-key government career. George W. Bush sent him as a delegate to the United Nations General Assembly in 2005, and he participated in judicial reform in Afghanistan during the last year of the Bush administration.
In 2016, he published a collection of hawkish foreign policy essays titled While America Slept: Restoring American Leadership in a World in Crisis, which was highly critical of the Obama administration.
Trump Taps Pasadena Resident Robert O'brien As National Security Adviser
She criticized the 2015 Iran nuclear deal as appeasement, and O'Brien derided Obama's "leading from behind" approach. He argued that "the supreme political correctness in the West" has kept governments in the fight against the Islamic State.
"To be the leader of the free world is not to be the world's policeman," he wrote. "It means that America should use its moral authority to promote the idea of free men and women and free markets for the betterment of the world."
The book's rhetoric positions O'Brien as a traditional Republican hawk — a direct match for Pompeo, but not necessarily an easy match for Trump.
The initial reaction of Washington diplomats is that O'Brien is likely to restore the interagency decision-making process that Bolton tried to destroy by reducing the number of "executive meetings" of department heads. In the new setup, Pompeo is likely to play a dominant role.
China, Iran, Russia Seeking To Undermine Us Elections: Nsa Robert O'brien
Unlike the tough Bolton, O'Brien seems to be able to get along with people of different political stripes.
Andrew Exum, a former senior Obama defense official, tweeted that O'Brien was "a really, really good person and I wish him the best in what will certainly be a challenging role." National security adviser defends briefing lawmakers criticizes Iran Lawmakers say Trump administration officials avoided questions about the president's ability to attack Iran. In an interview with , Robert O'Brien said that officials cannot discuss "hypotheses".
National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien is defending the Trump administration's decision to order a drone strike against Iran's top military commander. Evan Vucci/AP hide caption
National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien is defending the Trump administration's decision to order a drone strike against Iran's top military commander.
Nsa Adviser Robert O'brien Outlines Steps Us Taking To Maintain Free And Fair Elections
National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien is defending a closed-door briefing to lawmakers on Wednesday where Trump administration officials made the case for the US drone strike that killed Iran's top military commander.
A closed-door briefing by members of the president's national security team drew bipartisan criticism from lawmakers who say the administration has failed to adequately explain the intelligence that justified the killing of Iranian Quds Force commander General Qassem Soleimani last week.
Hosted by Steve Inskip on Thursday, O'Brien said the United States "has very good information that imminent attacks are being planned against Americans in Iraq and possibly Syria."
O'Brien also reiterated the administration's position that it will hold Iran accountable for any future attacks on Americans, even those carried out by Iranian proxies in the Middle East.
Donald Trump National Security Advisor Robert O'brien Tests Positive For Covid 19: White House
"We have made it clear that when Iranian-led proxies attack Americans, we will hold Iran accountable." And they understand that," he said.
A briefing for lawmakers on Wednesday, led by Defense Secretary Mark Esper, CIA Director Gina Haspel and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, fueled calls, particularly among Democrats, to limit the president's ability to take military action against Iran without congressional approval.
Among those criticizing the briefing was Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who called it "the worst briefing I've ever seen" on a military issue in his nine years in the Senate.
After the briefing, Lee said he would support a proposal by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., to limit the president's military powers. A separate measure that would force President Trump to seek congressional approval before taking new military action against Iran passed the House of Representatives on Thursday.
Days After Ousting Bolton, Donald Trump Names Robert O'brien As New Nsa
O'Brien, who said he was not part of the team that briefed Congress, said he was "disappointed" by Lee's characterization, adding that he had heard from other lawmakers that it was pretty well received.
Lee said his frustration stemmed not from Soleimani's killing, but from what he described as officials' unwillingness to discuss "the possibility of future military action against Iran."
"And in that regard, they refused to commit to when, if and under what circumstances it would be necessary for the president — or the executive branch — to come to Congress and seek authorization to use military force," he said.
One question the administration would not engage in, Lee said, was the hypothesis of whether it would ever launch an attack on Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Robert O'brien, National Security Adviser, Rejects China's Claims Of U.s. Role In Hong Kong Protests
"The fact that there was nothing but a refusal to answer that question may have bothered me the most at this meeting."
O'Brien said that "we never respond to those kinds of assumptions," especially when it comes to sensitive military operations. "So, for example, when President Obama took out Osama bin Laden, those things don't happen with previous reports to Congress." But in this case, we made sure that Congress was notified of the military operation against Soleimani immediately after it happened. ."
O'Brien defended the intelligence that led to the strike against Soleimani, but when asked if officials knew more about the "imminent" attack cited by the administration — details like time and place — O'Brien replied, "You never know when and where of these things with perfect singularity."
"I saw the intelligence and it was incredibly strong intelligence. "There are a lot of people who want this intelligence released," O'Brien said. "You know, look, I wish we could, but at the same time, we don't want to compromise the resources and methods that allow us to protect the American people."
National Security Adviser O'brien Jockeys For Future Spot In A Second Trump Administration
The Trump administration ordered the strike on Soleimani after a December 27 attack on an Iraqi military base by an Iranian-backed militia. The attack killed an American contractor and injured several other Americans and Iraqi workers.
"The president has made it very clear that if you harm Americans, if you kill Americans, you will be held accountable," O'Brien said.
Iran responded to the attack early Wednesday morning local time with missile attacks on two bases housing US troops in Iraq. There were no reports of casualties, but the reversal has led to fears that Tehran and Washington are on the brink of all-out war.
That fear seems to have subsided somewhat. Iranian UN
Nsa Chief Robert O'brien Says Administration Is Looking At Cutting Off Travel From Brazil Amid Coronavirus Pandemic
Robert o brien attorney, robert o brien artist, dr robert o brien, robert o brien md, robert o brien obituary, robert o brien author, robert o brien trees, robert o brien watercolor, robert christopher o brien, robert o brien, robert o brien guitars, robert o brien jr
0 Comments