DEVELOPING: Former Navy SEAL – Offered National Security Adviser Position

by Terresa Monroe-Hamilton | February 16, 2017 5:39 pm

President Trump has approached[1] Vice Admiral Robert Harward to replace Michael Flynn as National Security Adviser. Harward is said to be considering the position. He served as a Navy SEAL and in fact, became the top commander of the SEALs. After a long, distinguished career, Harward retired in 2013. He then became the chief executive for Lockheed Martin United Arab Emirates. Harward served on the National Security Council during the Bush administration as the Director of Strategy and Policy.

He is a protege of General ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis. Even the Dancing Queen, Sen. Lindsey Graham said that Harward would be an outstanding choice. Graham served as an Air Force lawyer under Harward. This is one tough warrior, whose reputation is stellar. After the mess surrounding Flynn, this man would be the perfect fit. Word has it he is from the same mold as Mattis and doesn’t mess around. He gets things done and God help anyone who gets in his way. He doesn’t suffer fools well. In other words, he’s a badass.

[2]

From the Conservative Tribune:

President Donald Trump has offered the national security adviser post vacated by Gen. Michael Flynn to a former Navy SEAL considered an expert on Iran, according to news reports.

Reuters[3] reported Wednesday that Vice Admiral Robert Harward, a former deputy commander of U.S. Central Command, had been asked to replace Flynn. Harward, who also saw combat action as a SEAL, is now an executive with defense contractor Lockheed Martin, where he oversaw the company’s Middle Eastern operations.

However, it’s Harward’s experience with Iran that has many observers raising their eyebrows.

According to the U.K. Daily Mail[4], Harwood grew up in pre-revolutionary Iran, gaining a distinct familiarity with the culture.

“During very formative years of his life, he was exposed to everything that was Iran,” said Joseph Condrill, one of Harward’s classmates at the Tehran American School. “Iran was one of our homes, and we got to know the Iranian people very well, in a very intimate way.”

Foreign Policy[5] (subscription required) also reports that when Harward was at Central Command, he served under Gen. James Mattis — now the defense secretary — who put him in charge of planning for war with Iran should the necessity ever arise.

The only thing that gave me any pause on this man at all was that he graduated high school in Tehran, Iran. He grew up in pre-revolutionary Iran and speaks fluent Farsi. He spent his teenage years not in his native Rhode Island, but in Iran – where his father, a Navy captain, advised the Iranian military. Harward is a counterterrorism expert and is a man that is not afraid to go after radical Islam. He served in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He is close friends with Mattis and I am sure this will be a welcome addition to the team.

“Iran’s well-established past pattern of deceit and reckless behavior have progressively increased the potential for miscalculation that could spark a regional, if not a global, conflict,” Harward said in a speech in 2012, according to Reuters. He would not hesitate to do whatever is necessary in connection to the Mullahs of Iran. Harward will carry his experience into the Trump White House, charged with coordinating national security policy and responding to threats including Iran’s ballistic missile program and support for militant groups in the Middle East. Harward is an excellent choice and I hope he accepts the position. We need more men like him at the helm.

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