Thus far, Lt. General Herbert Raymond “H.R.” McMaster appears to be a good choice as President Trump’s national security adviser if a consensus of pundits is reliable. With a chest full of “fruit salad,” that is battlefield commendations, and a reputation as a “warrior thinker,” McMaster is a breath of fresh air compared with the other men and women advising the president.
All things considered, he seems a far cry from Lt. General Michael Flynn, whose missteps proved disastrous and who was forced to step aside. McMaster, 54, is a native of Philadelphia and a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as well as the U.S. Military Academy.
He is a veteran of the Gulf War and of tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Among his published books are “Dereliction of Duty,” which criticized the failed military leadership in Vietnam. He is the first active duty to hold the national security post since General Colin Powell under President Reagan.
Before being tapped to fill the post as national security adviser, McMaster was the director of the Army Capabilities Integration Center and at the helm to decide how the U.S. Army should look in the near future.
McMaster is known as a leader who has no reservations about challenging his superiors, and thus we may have a very interesting situation when the national security adviser offers an opinion on Russia and the president’s current immigration policy.
On more than one occasion, according to several sources, McMaster has been outspoken about Russia’s tactics and weapons, particularly in relation to the Ukraine. Where Trump has been viewed as cozying up to Russia and its leader Vladimir Putin, McMaster has expressed his concern about Russia’s destabilizing role in the Ukraine and elsewhere.
He and Trump may differ on the policies emanating from the White House on immigration. McMaster has, according to several reports, proposed a position that is mindful of how Islam has been perverted by terrorist groups.
The two would seem to be on different ends of the Islamic spectrum because Trump has a tendency to denounce all Muslims with little regard of the division among groups. On the other hand, McMaster knows and has put forth a keen analysis of what distinguishes one group of Muslims from another.
It will be interesting to see how they resolve complex international situations in which Trump has been clueless.