Posted on 04/27/2017 6:45:46 AM PDT by COUNTrecount
Senators who were briefed at the White House on Wednesday about the situation with North Korea said they learned “very little” during the all-hands meeting — with some claiming it lacked “even straight answers” about President Trump’s ongoing plans.
“There was very little, if anything new,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) told The Washington Post.
“I remain mystified about why the entire Senate had to be taken over to the White House rather than conducting it here,” he said.
One Republican lawmaker, who chose to remain anonymous, claimed they weren’t updated on what the current policy was regarding the Hermit Kingdom — nor the US military’s testing of intercontinental ballistic missiles that took place on Wednesday morning.
“Several senators asked specifically, ‘What is the policy?’ and the briefers gave us very, very few details,” the senator said.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Nothing to leak so they leak there was nothing to leak.
This was a test. It was designed to see if any information that was shared would be leaked to the press and therefore, who, the leakers are, and who couldn’t be trusted with classified information.
I’m guessing our current policy is to eliminate their nuclear program and, eventually, the NK regime.
Ain’t rocket science.
Yep. This meeting was basically Trump checking a box on his to-do list.
Trump does not signal his national defense offence plans to the enemy.
************
The real purpose of this gathering was to send a message to the North Koreans and China that we are very serious about stopping aggressive behavior and the proliferation of nuclear weapons in the hands of a madman. Calling in the senators made a statement in itself. It says the next step will be some type of force or containment if diplomatic efforts fail.
I kinda agree with your assessment...it was merely a test and some passed....some failed.
The thing is....Trump can now say he’s briefed the Senate before he conducted operations.
I’d say we are on some 10 to 15 day window of something happening.
Probably a test to some degree.
Also, this puts everyone on the same page. No one can complain that they were never told the basics. Most Senators probably did NOT learn anything new. That was never the point. Other posters are correct in saying Trump is not going to show his foreign policy cards before he plays them. Certainly, the Senate has shown that it is incapable of keeping national secrets safe.
Exactly.
Unless Bluminthall is on an intelligence committee, he does!’t know what he thinks he knows. This is all bluster on his part to make himself look important.
That just Dick being a dick.He’s a dick for all seasons.
....https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_J._May
However, after this Democrat Congressman leaked secret military information resulting in hundreds of sailor’s deaths, and a later bribery conviction, he retained influence in Democratic party politics, and President Truman decided to grant him a full pardon in 1952.
Corruption, convictions, and stupidity continue to be Democrat resume builders to this day.
“One Republican lawmaker, who chose to remain anonymous” ...McSabotage or Linda?
While I agree, then what was the purpose of the briefing?
If I understand Pres. Trump’s basic character as I think I do, yes, I agree with you. He’s testing how Congress does with a small amount of innocuous information. Those who can keep their mouth shut or at least discreetly refrain from bashing the meeting’s intent, will be deemed worthy of greater trust in the future. Oh, you’d better believe he’s watching, keeping track of who’s gums are flapping and to whom.
That's just Dick being a dick. He’s a dick for all seasons.
It was also a show of force. President Trump had the senators come to him; he did not go to them.
It was a test of course. Who would run to the mic.
A quick summary for those who want to know about the traitor May!
Historian Clay Blair claimed that May was responsible for a major release of highly confidential military information during World War II, known as the May Incident.[3] In that incident, U.S. submarines had been conducting a successful undersea war against Japanese shipping during World War II, frequently escaping Japanese anti-submarine depth charge attacks.[3][4] However, the deficiencies of Japanese depth-charge tactics were revealed in a press conference held in June 1943 by Congressman May on his return from a war zone junket.[3][4]
At this press conference, May revealed the highly sensitive fact that American submarines had a high survival rate because Japanese depth charges were typically fuzed to explode at too shallow a depth.[3][4] Various press associations sent this leaked news story over their wires and many newspapers (including one in Honolulu, Hawaii), published it.[3][4]
It was subsequently discovered that Japanese naval antisubmarine forces were adjusting their depth charges to explode at a deeper depth.[3][4] Vice Admiral Charles A. Lockwood, commander of the U.S. submarine fleet in the Pacific, later estimated that May’s security breach cost the United States Navy as many as ten submarines and 800 crewmen killed in action,[3][4] stating “I hear Congressman May said the (Japanese) depth charges are not set deep enough.
He would be pleased to know (they) set them deeper now.”[3][4] A report from the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Submarine Fleet determined that Japanese anti-submarine warfare (ASW) forces failed to uncover the maximum test depth ability of U.S. fleet submarines during the war.[5] However, the report made no finding as to whether Japanese ASW forces altered their depth charge attacks to deeper settings as a consequence of May’s revelation to the press.[5]
This puts everyone on the same page. No one can complain that they were never told the basics. Most Senators probably did NOT learn anything new. That was never the point. Other posters are correct in saying Trump is not going to show his foreign policy cards before he plays them. Certainly, the Senate has shown that it is incapable of keeping national secrets safe.
Great tagline.
I had to read it twice with the help of my second cup of coffee!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.