Aftandilian in Middle East Online on Kelly’s White House Influence
Gregory Aftandilian, Lecturer at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, published a recent Op-Ed on the influence the new White House chief of staff, former US Marine Corps general John Kelly, has on a chaotic administration.
Aftandilian’s Op-Ed, entitled “Generals Bring Order to Chaotic White House Staff,” was published on August 27, 2017 by Middle East Online.
From the text of the article:
The recent removal of White House chief strategist and alt-right ideologue Stephen Bannon was in large part due to the influence of the new White House chief of staff, John Kelly, a former US Marine Corps general.
Kelly was moved from his cabinet position as head of the Department of Homeland Security to run the White House staff because President Donald Trump was concerned about infighting among his staff, leaks to the media and his inability to get major legislation passed in Congress. Kelly has reportedly become the gatekeeper to the Oval Office in addition to managing a large staff.
The significance of Kelly’s advent to the chief of staff position in terms of policy is that he is a non-ideological person and a pragmatist. His main ally in the White House is H.R. McMaster, the national security adviser, who holds the rank of US Army lieutenant-general.
Kelly and McMaster, besides their military backgrounds, are kindred spirits in that they say the United States should continue to be a leader in the world, maintain long-standing alliances and not give mixed signals to allies about US commitments.
Aftandilian spent over 21 years in government service, most recently on Capitol Hill where he was foreign policy adviser to Congressman Chris Van Hollen (2007-2008), professional staff member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and foreign policy adviser to Senator Paul Sarbanes (2000-2004), and foreign policy fellow to the late Senator Edward Kennedy (1999).