In the past 10 days, President Trump has fired the defense secretary as part of a leadership shake-up at the Pentagon. His administration has announced troop cutbacks in Afghanistan and Iraq. And the president huddled with his national security team and discussed possible military action against Iran.
Critics say the moves appear motivated by anger, revenge and an attempt to keep campaign promises dating to 2016. In addition, they say the president is taking steps that lack strategic coherence, complicate a transition to a Joe Biden presidency, confuse allies of the U.S. and harm America’s standing in the world.
In the aftermath of the election, “President Trump and those loyal to him started to sow chaos and division,” said Rep. Adam Smith, the Washington Democrat who heads the House Armed Services Committee. He called on Trump to stop “firing or forcing out national security professionals,” adding that the next two months could be “precarious at best and downright dangerous at worst.”
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