Leaked Pentagon Memo Indicates That Russia Is Not A Top Defense Priority For Trump
- 7 years ago
A Pentagon memo, obtained and posted by Foreign Policy, appears to list Donald Trump's top four defense priorities, and critics have pointed out that none of them involve Russia.
A Pentagon memo has been leaked which appears to show that President-elect Donald Trump does not consider Russia to be one of his top defense priorities.
Foreign Policy, which obtained the document and posted it online, states that the December 1 letter “was written by acting Undersecretary of Defense for policy Brian McKeon to employees in his office.”
An image of the memo shows that McKeon had listed four of Trump’s top defense priorities, as had been outlined by Mira Ricardel, a member of the president-elect's transition team.
They are largely described as follows: “1) Develop a strategy to defeat/destroy ISIS 2) Build a strong defense...3) Develop a comprehensive USG cyber strategy 4) Find greater efficiencies…”
As a report by The Hill states, “The absence of Russia as a top priority would be a departure from military officers’ warnings that the country is a top threat to the United States.”
However, an unnamed Trump insider is quoted by Foreign Policy as defending the memo, saying, “For the media to speculate that this list of issues represents all of the president-elect’s priorities is completely erroneous and misleading.”
A Pentagon memo has been leaked which appears to show that President-elect Donald Trump does not consider Russia to be one of his top defense priorities.
Foreign Policy, which obtained the document and posted it online, states that the December 1 letter “was written by acting Undersecretary of Defense for policy Brian McKeon to employees in his office.”
An image of the memo shows that McKeon had listed four of Trump’s top defense priorities, as had been outlined by Mira Ricardel, a member of the president-elect's transition team.
They are largely described as follows: “1) Develop a strategy to defeat/destroy ISIS 2) Build a strong defense...3) Develop a comprehensive USG cyber strategy 4) Find greater efficiencies…”
As a report by The Hill states, “The absence of Russia as a top priority would be a departure from military officers’ warnings that the country is a top threat to the United States.”
However, an unnamed Trump insider is quoted by Foreign Policy as defending the memo, saying, “For the media to speculate that this list of issues represents all of the president-elect’s priorities is completely erroneous and misleading.”