This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/30/world/asia/michael-flynn-trump-adviser-china-north-korea.html
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Michael Flynn, a Top Trump Adviser, Ties China and North Korea to Jihadists | |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| What if someone were to tell you that China and North Korea are allied with militant Islamists bent on imposing their religious ideology worldwide? | What if someone were to tell you that China and North Korea are allied with militant Islamists bent on imposing their religious ideology worldwide? |
| You might not agree. After all, China and North Korea are officially secular Communist states, and China has blamed religious extremists for violence in Muslim areas of its Xinjiang region. | You might not agree. After all, China and North Korea are officially secular Communist states, and China has blamed religious extremists for violence in Muslim areas of its Xinjiang region. |
| But such an alliance is the framework through which retired Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, the pick of President-elect Donald J. Trump for national security adviser, views the two East Asian countries. To the list of pro-jihadist anti-Western conspirators, General Flynn adds Russia, Cuba and Venezuela, among others. (Never mind that he has recently had close financial and lobbying relationships with conservative Russian and Turkish interests.) | But such an alliance is the framework through which retired Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, the pick of President-elect Donald J. Trump for national security adviser, views the two East Asian countries. To the list of pro-jihadist anti-Western conspirators, General Flynn adds Russia, Cuba and Venezuela, among others. (Never mind that he has recently had close financial and lobbying relationships with conservative Russian and Turkish interests.) |
| By appointing General Flynn, Mr. Trump has signaled that he intends to prioritize policy on the Middle East and jihadist groups, though the Obama administration seems to have stressed to Mr. Trump the urgency of dealing with North Korea’s nuclear program. General Flynn is an outspoken critic of political Islam and has advocated a global campaign led by the United States against “radical Islam.” He once posted on Twitter that “Fear of Muslims is RATIONAL.” | By appointing General Flynn, Mr. Trump has signaled that he intends to prioritize policy on the Middle East and jihadist groups, though the Obama administration seems to have stressed to Mr. Trump the urgency of dealing with North Korea’s nuclear program. General Flynn is an outspoken critic of political Islam and has advocated a global campaign led by the United States against “radical Islam.” He once posted on Twitter that “Fear of Muslims is RATIONAL.” |
| General Flynn is about to take on what many consider the most important foreign policy job in the United States government. He is expected to coordinate policy-making agencies, manage competing voices and act as Mr. Trump’s main adviser, and perhaps arbiter, on foreign policy. | General Flynn is about to take on what many consider the most important foreign policy job in the United States government. He is expected to coordinate policy-making agencies, manage competing voices and act as Mr. Trump’s main adviser, and perhaps arbiter, on foreign policy. |
| General Flynn’s peers in the Army have praised him for his work gathering intelligence in Iraq and Afghanistan. But senior officials have criticized him for being a poor manager as director of the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency. After being forced from the job in 2014, he began denouncing the Obama administration in public, saying the White House refused to acknowledge important intelligence on growing jihadist threats and their ideological foundations. | General Flynn’s peers in the Army have praised him for his work gathering intelligence in Iraq and Afghanistan. But senior officials have criticized him for being a poor manager as director of the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency. After being forced from the job in 2014, he began denouncing the Obama administration in public, saying the White House refused to acknowledge important intelligence on growing jihadist threats and their ideological foundations. |
| He then wrote a book, with a co-author, on his military career and the need to intensify the campaign against Islamic extremists. The book, “The Field of Fight: How We Can Win the Global War Against Radical Islam and Its Allies,” published in July, is one of the few places where General Flynn has discussed his views on China and North Korea. The mentions are infrequent, but they give some clue as to how he views the Asian nations. | He then wrote a book, with a co-author, on his military career and the need to intensify the campaign against Islamic extremists. The book, “The Field of Fight: How We Can Win the Global War Against Radical Islam and Its Allies,” published in July, is one of the few places where General Flynn has discussed his views on China and North Korea. The mentions are infrequent, but they give some clue as to how he views the Asian nations. |
| Here are the most relevant passages. In the introduction, General Flynn says one of his goals in writing the book is: | Here are the most relevant passages. In the introduction, General Flynn says one of his goals in writing the book is: |
| He tries to further explain that alliance through a vague mention of a common ideology: | He tries to further explain that alliance through a vague mention of a common ideology: |
| Early in his career, General Flynn served with the 25th Infantry Division in the Asia-Pacific region. He writes: “This opened up my eyes to the type of enemies we saw across a wide swath of the Asia-Pacific rim. There were many, and still are.” | Early in his career, General Flynn served with the 25th Infantry Division in the Asia-Pacific region. He writes: “This opened up my eyes to the type of enemies we saw across a wide swath of the Asia-Pacific rim. There were many, and still are.” |
| General Flynn also gives a bit more detail on how he sees this global alliance: | General Flynn also gives a bit more detail on how he sees this global alliance: |
| General Flynn goes on to discuss reports that North Korea has cooperated with Iran and Syria on nuclear programs and trade. He asserts that Iran is the “linchpin” of the global anti-Western network. He writes: | General Flynn goes on to discuss reports that North Korea has cooperated with Iran and Syria on nuclear programs and trade. He asserts that Iran is the “linchpin” of the global anti-Western network. He writes: |
| Finally, General Flynn writes that if the United States loses the global war, one result will be living under “the grim censorship we see in groups such as the Islamic State, Al Qaeda, and the Taliban or from nations like Iran, North Korea, and Cuba.” | Finally, General Flynn writes that if the United States loses the global war, one result will be living under “the grim censorship we see in groups such as the Islamic State, Al Qaeda, and the Taliban or from nations like Iran, North Korea, and Cuba.” |
| The appointment of General Flynn has caught the attention of some Chinese scholars and analysts. They appear to be wary. Last week, Shi Zehua, an associate professor of international relations at Beijing Foreign Studies University, wrote in an opinion piece in The Beijing News that General Flynn “has serious Islamophobia and is full of sympathy toward white supremacy.” | The appointment of General Flynn has caught the attention of some Chinese scholars and analysts. They appear to be wary. Last week, Shi Zehua, an associate professor of international relations at Beijing Foreign Studies University, wrote in an opinion piece in The Beijing News that General Flynn “has serious Islamophobia and is full of sympathy toward white supremacy.” |
| Mr. Shi added: | Mr. Shi added: |
| John Delury, a scholar of Chinese history and the Koreas at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea, shared these thoughts after reading General Flynn’s book: | John Delury, a scholar of Chinese history and the Koreas at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea, shared these thoughts after reading General Flynn’s book: |