I have no idea why the Joint Chiefs would invite him:
Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, landed in Iraq on Monday, military officials said, visiting the country as the American military is aiding Iraqi forces in their brutal fight to retake Mosul from the Islamic State.
It was unclear what Mr. Kushner, who has been expanding his reach in his father-in-law’s administration, planned to gain from the trip. Mr. Kushner, 36, who serves as a senior adviser to Mr. Trump, was invited by Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Navy Capt. Greg Hicks, a spokesman for the chairman, said early Monday that the general had arrived in Iraq for meetings, including with coalition officials, accompanied by Mr. Kushner and Thomas P. Bossert, the president’s homeland security adviser.
The general invited Mr. Kushner and Mr. Bossert to accompany him “to receive an update on the status of the counter-ISIS campaign in Iraq and Syria,” Captain Hicks said.
First things first- imagine what would happen if in the first few months of President Hillary Clinton’s term if her son-in-law Marc Mezvinsky flew to Baghdad in her stead.
Exactly.
Second, what are the Joint Chiefs thinking? That maybe Kushner is more stable than POTUS? Regardless, this is nepotistic insanity that smacks of Uday and Qsay.
schrodingers_cat
Superpower to banana republic in less than 100 days. Winning!
Keith P.
What are they thinking? They’re thinking “This Kushner guy is a direct line for me keeping my job when the shit gets bad, since bringing Bannon up here will likely lead to a flea infestation.”
Roger Moore
That trump gave them an order to invite his son-in-law.
Baud
@Keith P.: This.
efgoldman
Adam commented extensively on this last nite.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
The CW I’m hearing and reading is that they think this is the best way to communicate with the flabby lesser ape.
ETA: The conservatives and professional Republicans I occasionally follow on twitter– Tom Nichols, Dan Dresser, Ana Navarro, Rick Wilson– are all disgusted by the Kushners’ roles in this administration, sometimes damn near apoplectic
Baud
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: This too.
Yarrow
Following orders from their Commander-in-Chief.
Major Major Major Major
@efgoldman: Executive summary?
danielx
Probably. But then nitroglycerin is probably more stable than Trump, so that doesn’t pose a very high bar.
Baud
@Major Major Major Major: Shit be fucked up.
Major Major Major Major
@Baud:
Honestly, the days where I just accept that this is the executive summary for political news and that’s not going to change today, are the best days I have.
hovercraft
@Keith P.: @Jim, Foolish Literalist:
All of them Katie!
Twitler has been saying and doing shit that’s making the fight harder, maybe they think showing his whisperer, what’ s what he will get Twitler to stop being so unhelpful. Pissing off the Iraqi’s is dumb.
Concerned
What most refuse to accept is that we had a coup on 911, our very own Reichtag, if you will. They’ve been implementing 1984 and Randian ideology ever since. Draw out your own timeline; the Enron deal, giving over $30M to Leaman Bros. from the GPBF a month before its demise, none on WS going to jail, the unPatriot Act, the Enemies Combatant Act, the Dems phucking Bernie and him conceding after saying he would never, and on and on and on. Now we have a guy who imagines himself John Galt while the real John Galt has yet to reveal himself. America needs to wake the phuck up and quit treating each news flash like its unrelated to the last one. That’s what Germany did, and it didn’t turn out well.
debbie
I think each new assignment is to distract from the fact he hasn’t done squat on his previous assignments.
schrodingers_cat
How is thing being covered on NYT, PBS etc?
sanjeevs
Kushner may be sounding out the Joint Chiefs on what would happen if Comey was to be fired and how they could make great deals in Trumps America.
That’s usually what happens in developing countries when the scion of the ruling family meets with the military leaders.
schrodingers_cat
@Concerned:
Is it springtime in Minsk, yet?
Viva BrisVegas
That their job involves getting their POV to the President and all legitimate avenues have been cut off.
That must be wondering what wrong they did to deserve this President.
If the Kushner route doesn’t work, that only leaves smoke signals.
Felonius Monk
That maybe there will be an opportunity to heave him out the door somewhere over the Atlantic?
Major Major Major Major
@Concerned: That’s quite the comment, are you new?
dmsilev
@Concerned:
Uh huh. And this, you believe, is evidence of a post-9/11 coup?
May I recommend Alcoa’s fine spring lineup of headware? It’s extra shiny.
Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
No, but, but, but, but, but… Yeah, but, but, but, Marc Mezvinsky goint to Baghdad would be totally wrong, see, ’cause, see, ’cause Mezvinsky has no expertise in foreign affairs, and Hillary Clinton had a private e-mail server, right, and Obama lied and people died, and, uh, Muslim Brotherhood, and up-or-down vote for Gorsuch, too! And Hillary Clinton killed Ambassador Stevens, or have you conveniently forgotten about that, and also Vincent Foster, huh? Huh? And Donald Trump has all his money in a blind trust, and Hillary Clinton gave speeches to Goldman Sachs for money, but you never hear the lame-stream media say anything about that, do you, Cole? And Donald Trump isn’t even taking a salary, right? Right? Why do you never talk about that, heh? Heh? How ’bout that, “Mr.” Cole, why don’t you talk about that? And Obama wasn’t even born in this country, and Clinton lied and people died, and where’s the birth certificate, and shut up, that’s why! and I WANT MY COUNTRY BACK!!!1!!!!ahundredandeleven!!!!!one!!!!ONE1!!!!!11!!!!!
JPL
And yet, some think we were lucky that Hillary’s emails were exposed. ugh
Baud
@Major Major Major Major: Maybe he’s auditioning.
Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
@Concerned: Is this for real? Are you channeling a wingnut or something, or have you forgotten to take your medicine?
Baud
@Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.): Putin.
Major Major Major Major
@Baud: For what?
@Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.):
You know that old chestnut about how you go far enough to the left, you end up on the right?
schrodingers_cat
@Baud: Whatever happened to mclaren?
Baud
@Major Major Major Major: Putin.
Tilda Swintons Bald Cap
@Concerned: Whatever, Ivan.
schrodingers_cat
@Major Major Major Major: Troll factory is beta testing some new lines, since the resistance is being effective.
Baud
Military officers are overwhelmingly Republican, right? I’d be curious to see how many of them voted for Trump.
raven
Go Bulldogs!
Suzanne
They aren’t stupid. They know where the levers of power and influence are in this administration. They obviously want something.
p.a.
Yep I think several previous comments have it: he’s (apparently) a trusted pipeline to tRump, and the JCS feel their point of view is more likely to reach him clean through Fredo than any other channel. They may also feel if tRump thinks the idea is from Fredo himself he may be more likely to accept the idea than if it came from the JCS!!
ETA: goddamn who knew the people with tinfoil hats would eventually be right!
JMG
Really, what’s another war tourist to the Joint Chiefs? He might be extra foolish and get shot, or super extra foolish and try to do some criminal deal with an Iraqi pol under surveillance by all branches of military intelligence. Got to look on the bright side.
Adam L Silverman
As I wrote last night: Gen. Dunford is a smart guy and a sold strategic thinker. He knows that Kushner is the President’s closest advisor and that he is the last person the President speaks to before finalizing a decision. Gen. Dunford, like all general officers/flag officers, is a political creature and very good at politics or he wouldn’t be where he is. The best way for him to set the conditions to properly engage with the President in general, and on the specifics of what happens vis a vis the US in Iraq and Syria, is to bring Kushner with him for a battlefield circulation.
All that’s really going to happen on this trip is that he’ll be greeted by the CJTF OIR Commander and Command Group. If they’re available he’ll also be greeted by the Combined Joint Force Land Component Commander (C/JFLCC), the Combined Joint Force Air Component Commander (C/JFACC), and the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force Commander (CJSOTF). He’ll then be briefed by the CJTF senior staff – so several of my former students (the J2/Chief of Intel, J4/Chief of Logistics and Sustainment, and PAO/Public Affairs Officer – Seminar 12 represent!) will be extra busy. He’ll then sit in on meetings with Gen. Dunford’s Iraqi counterpart and, as has been reported, Prime Minister al Abadi. If there’s time they’ll take him up to the Coalition Coordination Center in Irbil and another of my former students, the Coalition Coordination Commander (Seminar 12 represent again!), will also be extra busy. He’ll get to meet some of the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines, get some briefings, and collect some challenge coins and likely a ball cap or two. That’s it.
raven
@Adam L Silverman: Grip and grin. Don’t mean nuthin.
Adam L Silverman
@efgoldman: And I just did so again!
TenguPhule
@Viva BrisVegas:
Odds are it was voting for him.
Another Scott
@efgoldman: Yup:
HTH.
Cheers,
Scott.
gene108
Kushner is not a senior advisor. He is Trump’s main commissar to enforce loyalty in the rank-and-file.
p.a.
@Adam L Silverman: No lollipops?
raven
They gotta swab jockey singing the Naty!
SiubhanDuinne
Somewhat O/T, but have there been any KellyAnne sightings recently? I’m not saying I miss her — the gods in their mercy forbid! — but she seems conspicuous by her absence over the past, what, couple of weeks at least.
raven
@p.a.: Hard dick and bubblegum. . .
TenguPhule
@Adam L Silverman:
Yes, but given how much he’s mixed up in Russia and nepotism, isn’t allowing him all this access to sensitive information and people a REALLY REALLY Bad idea?
schrodingers_cat
We are Czarist Russia during WWI now. We have installed an inept royal family, instead of inheriting one.
p.a.
@raven:
oooh no… is that like a rub and tug?
Adam L Silverman
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: And so they should be. The Iraqis, the Chinese, and many others understand what having the President’s son in law and daughter as his two most trusted advisors. Of course it didn’t end so well for Saddam’s sons in law.
raven
@SiubhanDuinne: Mika banned her.
TenguPhule
@schrodingers_cat: But at least they killed off all of theirs when the time came.
Gin & Tonic
@raven: Sure would be nice to hear someone sing it straight for a change.
Ocotillo
Running the country like a business, including bringing in inept family members.
Concerned
I’m a long time lurker, and no, not a wingnut although I suppose that’s in the eyes of the beholder. Theres only one political party left in this country, the Money Party, and if you don’t believe that neither I nor history will convince you. What, are you afraid to draw out the timeline of everything that’s happened since the Money Party took the reins? Please, do it – everything you can think of since the towers went down, everything they’ve implemented against the people, everything that should’ve been, but some last minute snafu made it go the other way, every time they openly killed another black man and got away with it. Everything. Scoff all you want, but in your gut you know there’s something to what I’m saying even if you think I’m saying it poorly.
raven
@Gin & Tonic: My sis is at the game, mid court but WAYYYYY the fuck up there!
trollhattan
@dmsilev:
I read this in Apu’s voice, which makes it such a good pitch I want some.
Adam L Silverman
@Baud: @TenguPhule: General officers/flag officers routinely do not register to vote and/or if registered do not vote. This is an informal custom meant to cement the senior leaderships apolitical nature and reinforce civilian control of the military.
raven
@Concerned: Wow, you know I bet no one ever thought of that!!
Adam L Silverman
@raven: Where are they going?
Adam L Silverman
@raven: It is what it is.
raven
@Adam L Silverman: Just in the presidential?
gene108
@JPL:
Her emails are on the State Department website. I read some. They are boring.
I wish the media would have pointed this out. The emails were public records, easily found with a quick Google search. There wasn’t much that was being kept from the public.
mai naem mobile
I was flipping channels the othet night and landed on the WSJ Editorial Board Show or whatever the fuck it’s called. Gigot/Henninger/Strasser and some other woman. I feel like we live in two different countries. They were going on about Gorsuch and how the Dems changed the rules lalalalalala. Seriously WTF? This isn’t Sean the Moron Hannity. This is the WSJ editorial board who are living in their own fantasy world. Jeezus,if I was on one of these shows somebody would have to restrain me from reaching over and slapping Paul Gigots ugly face.
raven
@Adam L Silverman: If they can control the boards maybe the promise land!
Adam L Silverman
@JMG: He won’t be allowed anywhere near where he could even be remotely in danger.
Gin & Tonic
@raven: Did she need a helicopter to get up there? Some of those seats are really far away.
TenguPhule
@Concerned:
Dumbass, only one party voted for Internet history to be sold to the highest bidder and only ONE PARTY voted against that.
If you’re too stupid to understand that, find an easier blog to troll on.
Lizzy L
This from TPM had me laughing out loud.
I did not go to BuzzFeed to read the whole report.
dmsilev
@Concerned: Protip: You forgot to add “Wake up, sheeple!”.
SiubhanDuinne
@raven:
Yes she did, and that was
screamingly funnya rational and quite understandable decision by Mika.But KAC hasn’t just disappeared from The Joe Show. Up until maybe ten days ago (haven’t been counting, so not sure how long it’s been) she was all over the place in WH photos and on many various news programs and being extensively quoted in the print and pixel media. But she’s just … vanished, or so it seems.
raven
@Gin & Tonic: That wing of my family are way into hot air ballooning. For reelz.
Adam L Silverman
@TenguPhule: He gets whatever access the President wants him to have. Regardless of whether it is a good idea.
schrodingers_cat
@dmsilev: Russian to wingnut, translator has a few glitches.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Adam L Silverman: I confess I’m baffled by what seems to be the general passivity of the public at large. Reminds me of something Julie Ioffe said about the recent Russian protests being a breach in the habitual passivity of the Russian people. I know the women’s march was just a few weeks ago, but Spicer should be stammering and flailing trying to explain Jared and Ivanka.
Two guys were working on my house this morning as I had the NPR morning news on, and they were talking bout the Kushners’ money and I heard one guy mutter to his partner “He just turned down a billion dollar deal and they try to make it sound like he’s stealing.” I have no idea what billion dollar deal that is supposed to have been
Adam L Silverman
@raven: Depends. Those that don’t register don’t vote at all at any level until they retire. Those that do register, at least those I know, have stated they do not vote for the President. Some also don’t vote for Congress.
Adam L Silverman
@Lizzy L: I did. There is something wrong with that guy’s brain at the organic level.
mike in dc
Wait. Long time lurker, posts a provocative comment under the nym “Concerned”. A little too on the nose.
raven
@Adam L Silverman: Hey we started watching this last night, very good.
Netflix’s Five Came Back turns a great Hollywood history into an absorbing documentary
Adam L Silverman
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: He didn’t turn the deal down, the PRC leadership decided it looked bad and the PRC owned bank pulled out of the deal. The deal was to bail out Kushner and his company in his underwater investment in his 666 Park AVE property.
Adam L Silverman
@raven: I’ll check it out, thanks.
Gin & Tonic
@Adam L Silverman: 666 Fifth Ave.
Concerned
You’ll have to explain all those votes that could’ve happened but didn’t when the Dems were in control first. Dumbass, indeed. If you folks can’t see that the military industrial complex is now the congressional/corporate military complex, well, I’ll just go back to lurking and watching the world blow up because folks, left and right are too dumb/scared/rude to face their own reality.
Keith P.
Anyone else here think that all this Kushner worship out of Trump is an attempt to set him up for the presidency down the line? I would have figured Ivanka (of course), so I’m not entirely figuring out the angle.
efgoldman
@mai naem mobile:
Exactly.
I started reading the WSJ 25-ish years ago when I went to work for Enormous Brokerage & Mutual Funds LLC; their news pages (pre-Rupert) were always reliable, and often very insightful. Their editorial and op ed pages always ranged from delusional to totally bugfuck crazy.
raven
@Concerned: Do that because your shit is weak.
Adam L Silverman
@Gin & Tonic: Whatever…
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Adam L Silverman: ah, that’s it! I was just reading an NYT write up on the status of Satan’s Tower. Not a business I would invest in.
Quinerly
@SiubhanDuinne:
For what it is worth, I was channel surfing yesterday and accidently landed on Judge Jeanine Pirro’s show. KAC was on. Didn’t linger. Pirro appeared drunk, KAC appeared more haggard and vampire like than usual. They both were dressed like they were going to a cocktail party after the show. Think it was a replay from the Saturday night show.
TenguPhule
@Concerned: Why not make yourself useful and go kamikaze the RNC?
raven
@Adam L Silverman: That would be “wherever”!
mai naem mobile
@SiubhanDuinne: i thought I heard her voice when they were clearing the journos from the non signing tantrum Dolt 45 held the other day.
Smiling Mortician
@Keith P.: Ivanka’s a girl. Trump is a full-on misogynist. He wouldn’t see her as presidential material, no matter what else (ew) he feels about her.
Adam L Silverman
@raven: However…
Another Scott
@gene108: There are lists of all of the groups she’s given speeches to, as well. It’s hard to imagine a political candidate who was more transparent. And more qualified. Someone that everyone had seen in good times, and in horrible times.
It didn’t matter. :-(
Cheers,
Scott.
Feebog
Rachael is all over the Carter Page stoty tonight.
schrodingers_cat
@Another Scott: The media’s character assassination of 25+ years was successful. T and R party were the beneficiaries.
Millard Filmore
@Adam L Silverman: Adam, sometimes you make me wish my draft number was not 365.
Adam L Silverman
@Millard Filmore: Sorry bout that.
Keith P.
@Smiling Mortician: Maybe it has something to do with them being Orthodox Jews? My mother claimed to be one (even while waiting on a pepperoni pizza to arrive), and they’re typically pretty old-fashioned re: women. But I’m not even positive they *are* Orthodox (never seen either wear head covering)…could just be Conservative, with media not drawing a distinction.
Millard Filmore
@Concerned: Let us assume you are right, and we are getting a clear vision of the reality behind your concerns. Which party realistically has even a 10% chance of fixing things?
Adam L Silverman
@Keith P.: They’re Modern Orthodox.
SiubhanDuinne
@mai naem mobile:
I remember hearing a female voice (in a muttered “He didn’t sign it?” “No, he didn’t sign it.”), but it didn’t sound enough like KellyAnne to register. Doesn’t matter, I don’t care if I never see or hear her again; was just curious, as she was so incredibly visible for the first several weeks and then just seemed to up and vanish.
wuzzat
@Keith P.: He probably figures it’s a good way to keep Kushner busy while he and Ivanka share some father-daughter bonding time.
SiubhanDuinne
@wuzzat:
ICK ICK ICK!!
Mnemosyne
@Concerned:
Name three. Be specific. “Jailing the banksters” doesn’t count.
Concerned
Again, there is only the Money Party left. The People must create their own party, they must refuse to be governed until the People are again at the table. We have 1% of the wealth, but we have 95% of the People. We must take over – everything. They are selling our water for phucks sake. We must refuse, and we must join together. We must stop just going along. Seeing as how if you speak the truth on a leftie blog like BJ you’re immediately pounced upon, called names, ejected by by-standers, etc., much easier said than done. And for clarification, I did not mean we had a post 911 coup, I meant that 911 was a planned part essential to the coup. Worked like a charm. Remember W joking about how he needed his own Pearl Harbor? Joke was on us, huh? Color me gone now.
mai naem mobile
@Keith P.: I don’t see Kushner becoming Prez. His dad’s criminal history would come out and he wouldn’t be able to dig out of that. We haven’t even gotten to his daddy in law and his financial deals where undoubtedly they’ll find some unsavory stuff beyond the Chinese and Russian loans. And then there’s the streak of anti semitism in this country which will probably never end because it’s religion based.
mai naem mobile
@SiubhanDuinne: hmmm…not important but the part I heard where it sounded like her was a woman saying something like ‘okay, we’re done here, let’s go, we’re done here.’
Keith P.
@mai naem mobile: Good point.
Teddys Person
@Keith P.: Here’s my nightmare scenario. The Trump regime ousts Pence (you know he’s guilty of some shit). Trump appoints J-Kush at VP. The House obediently confirms. Trump resigns citing (mental) health reason. Voila, President J-Kush (the worst strain of weed ever).
Omnes Omnibus
@Concerned:
Not helping your credibility.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Teddys Person: I think I’d prefer his Supreme Court picks
Gin & Tonic
@Concerned:
We’ll miss you.
Teddys Person
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: For clarification, you mean to Pence’s picks?
'As You Know' Bob
The hilarious aspect of this is that
I Trump put Jared in charge of finding Middle East Peace
II Trump then sends the guy 6,200 miles away…
III and THEN Trump meets with Egypt’s el-Sisi IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
Why it’s like the entire crew were completely without any clue how to govern.
Mnemosyne
@Concerned:
In other words, you’re not willing to defend your claims with actual facts, just more slogans. Gotcha.
debbie
@SiubhanDuinne:
It could be spring break with her kids.
Robert
@efgoldman: They used to run Jude Wanninski’s gold standard editorial as regularly as the swallows returning to San Juan Capistrano,
Omnes Omnibus
@debbie: She strikes me as the type who eats her young.
Ian
As wrong as the nepotism is, I am glad that what seems to be Ill Douche’s smartest most influential adviser is actually talking to people on the ground involved in our foreign affairs.
That is one really low bar.
sanjeevs
So the Russian agent that met Carter Page is released early, last Friday. Was supposed to serve 30 months (sentenced last year) but instead is out now for immediate deportation. Nothing fishy there
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-campaign-advisor-carter-page-targeted-russian-spies/story?id=46557506
No One You Know
@schrodingers_cat: I was thinking 16th century Poland. But yours works better.
PJ
@Teddys Person: My worst case scenario is Trump is indicted/impeached/resigns before the elections in 2018, Pence becomes President and selects Ted Cruz to be VP, with the understanding that he will be pardoned by him when he is in turn indicted/impeached. But Cruz might be shrewd enough to see that deal as a definite loser for him in 2020, in which case we might end up with President Gingrich or Giuliani.
efgoldman
@Concerned:
You live in phantasyland
Also you’re full of shit.
ETA: A 911 truther also too. Heavens.
efgoldman
@Teddys Person:
The senate has to confirm, too. I don’t see it.
Your scenario is right up there with the three-minute confirmation of Garland fantasy from December.
Omnes Omnibus
@efgoldman: Dearth of civics in high school says the Gov’t major/JD.
PIGL
@schrodingers_cat: and the sequence of events was entirely unintentional; more a tragic accident, really. Whocoodanode? How could we possibly explain this terrible outcome?
Petorado
All the Jared/ Ivanka appointments just reinforce the observation that Trump doesn’t read a f*cking thing. He listens to trusted family members, FOX news, and a small circle in his immediate employ. Jared going to Iraq means Donald won’t read a word of any policy nor diplomatic briefs on the issue, since his accumulated flaws prohibit him from digging into the written documentation to make up his own mind on any topic. Kushner isn’t just his eyes/ ears, he is essentially Donald’s brain appealing to his Manichean sense of who is good/ bad, right/ wrong in as short a time as possible for his ADHD/ narcissistic mind.
boatboy_srq
@Viva BrisVegas:
Dissing the last one clearly wasn’t the cause.
/snark
sherparick
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Yes, but consider the alternatives. “In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is King.” Kushner and Ivanka may be shallow amateurs, but 1) they at least have some self-awarness they need to listen to others; 2) you don’t become JCS Chairman without being a canny bureaucratic politician and how better to get the second most powerful person in the land on your side then to flatter him and brief on a long trip to Iraq and back; and 3) they are the only sane people He Who I cannot Name will listen to.
On November 8 I went into the fetal position and nothing that has happened since has shown that I was wrong. This man is a catastrophe. And yes, if you voted for him, I think you are an idiot, at best, evil at worst.
Chooman
@Adam L Silverman: So these clowns go to the middle east, next day suspected gas attack in Syria. ref: See Rumsfeld, Donald