Flynn: outspoken general, intelligence pro, Trump supporter

“I am pleased that Lieutenant General Michael Flynn will be by my side as we work to defeat radical Islamic terrorism, navigate geopolitical challenges and keep Americans safe at home and overseas”, Trump said in a statement Friday.

Here’s what we know about Flynn’s worldview. “This is probably the biggest election in our nation’s history, since bringing on George Washington when he decided not to be a king”.

Flynn served as Trump’s top national security adviser during the campaign, advising Trump on the Islamic State, Iran, and the military, according to reports.

This alignment of views, coupled with his outspokenness, could make Flynn a particularly useful ally to Trump and counterweight to those senior military officers who have been leery of deeper USA involvement in the Middle East as well as those convinced that Russia’s aggression in Ukraine demands a harsher US response. “And what I’ve seen in the last couple of administrations is just a real failure to truly connect strategic dots around the world”. Critics say that Flynn’s anti-Islam rhetoric spells trouble for the US. That’s an explanation some gave for why he was pushed into retirement.

Flynn’s Twitter feed – regularly updated with pro-Trump comments – is another source of potential scrutiny.

Lt. Gen. Flynn has sketchy ties to Vladimir Putin’s Russian Federation that represent a risky and unprecedented subjugation of USA interests to Moscow. Flynn accepted the position Friday. “But he telegraphed his intent for radical change in a way that he immediately created resistance to his ideas, no matter their merits”.

Flynn’s final thoughts upon retirement from the Defense Intelligence Agency, as posted on Department of Defense website, were: “As you walk away from my retirement ceremony today, if you consider anything that I say, it is that we had better be prepared for and ready and willing to use every fiber of our being to maintain the kind of life that we enjoy in this country”.

Flynn’s career, capstoned by his recent foray into politics with the Trump camp, has been riddled with controversy, though he’s credited with overhauling the country’s counterterror strategies in Afghanistan.

Flynn apologised for the presentation in a subsequent memo that said neither he nor the agency “condone this briefing”. Flynn has appeared on and been interviewed by Russia Today a couple of times, and has said he “absolutely agrees” that the United States and Russia need to work together to defeat ISIS. In other words, presidents often make bad picks early on. Flynn has become very fond of speaking about Islam in apocalyptic terms.

“My team and I are pleased to hand off our work to my friend and former colleague, Vice President-elect Mike Pence, Executive Director Rick Dearborn, the Trump family, and the stellar new leadership team”.

A registered Democrat, he was named by Mr Obama in 2012 to lead the Defence Intelligence Agency, but was forced out in less than two years amid a turbulent restructuring effort and clashes with his superiors. And in his book he wrote that American Islamists are trying to create “an Islamic state right here at home” – without any proof to back it up, the New York Daily News notes. That’s especially critical for a President with no military background and scant foreign policy experience. They are to meet this weekend, a transition official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to discuss Trump’s schedule publicly. The outspoken Flynn reportedly made Trump’s short list for running mate over the summer.

The president-elect is still weighing a range of candidates for other leading national security posts.

Pompeo has said that Muslim leaders are “potentially complicit” in terrorist attacks if they do not denounce violence conducted in the name of Islam.