McCain Challenges Trump’s Authority, Adds New Amendment To Defense Bill

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Sen. John McCain has made it perfectly clear that he does not like or respect President Trump, but now he goes too far when he challenges his authority as Commander in Chief.

Since the day President Trump took office, Sen. John McCain has been a constant voice of criticism over every move he makes. From criticizing his use of Twitter, to who he staffs at the White House, to his dramatic show of defiance when he voted ‘no’ to repealing Obamacare.

Now, McCain seeks to undercut the President’s Afghanistan strategy in the new defense authorization bill, by introducing an amendment forcing him to send more troops to the war-torn nation and keep them in the country indefinitely.

This comes as President Trump is pondering whether or not to pull out of Afghanistan and turn the fight over to private contractors. Apparently McCain isn’t a fan of this idea, or else he wouldn’t be adding an amendment to yet again force the President’s hand, like what happened with the only bipartisan legislation to leave Congress in over a year – the Russian sanctions bill.

Apparently McCain thinks he knows more than General Mattis and the other Generals that are advising President Trump.

From the Washington Examiner:

The proposal, which McCain said was filed as a proposed amendment to an annual defense bill, increases troops for counterterrorism operations and calls for an open-ended agreement with Afghanistan with an enduring U.S. counterterrorism presence in the country.

It would also embed U.S. military trainers and advisers at the battalion level of every Afghan army corps and “significantly” increase the use of U.S. air power, according to a released copy of the legislation. The proposed amendment does not specify the number of additional U.S. troops who would be deployed in the nearly 16-year-old conflict.

McCain had warned President Trump, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, and other administration officials to finish up a promised new Afghanistan strategy or he would add one to the National Defense Authorization Act, which is expected to be debated and amended on the floor of the Senate in September.

“Now, nearly seven months into President Trump’s administration, we’ve had no strategy at all as conditions on the ground have steadily worsened,” McCain, who is the Armed Services chairman, said in a released statement. “The thousands of Americans putting their lives on the line in Afghanistan deserve better from their commander-in-chief.”

McCain’s proposal would beef up forces in Afghanistan and remove current timelines placed on the military, but it shares the same long-standing goals of U.S. foreign policy for the country. It aims to keep Afghanistan’s government from collapse, eliminate the risk of a terrorist save haven, and beat back the Taliban and other terror groups.

“We must face facts: We are losing in Afghanistan and time is of the essence if we intend to turn the tide,” he said.

Keep in mind, McCain is the same person who criticized President Trump’s strong rhetoric with North Korea, stating that he shouldn’t make threats he “doesn’t intend to back up,” and who’s taken a hawkish stance pretty much everywhere else.

The White House may now be considering an alternative plan to privatize much of the U.S. war effort by hiring 5,500 contractors to take over the advising and assisting of Afghan security forces now performed by the military and 90 contracted air craft, according to Erik Prince, the founder of the Blackwater security firm and brother of Trump’s education secretary Betsy DeVos.

Now that the President is thinking about the alternative strategy for Afghanistan, one that the CEO of Blackwater called “unprecedented,”  and may very well save American lives and money, here’s this RINO trying to intervene to keep the status quo in place.

Go home and rest McCain, and let the people’s President do his job.

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