national security advisor Michael Flynn resigned his position in the Trump administration as stories surrounding an unauthorized conversation he had as a private citizen with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislya in which, among other things, sanctions against Russia may have been discussed. According to CNN, Flynn compounded his folly by at first denying that the conversation took place and then, when proof came to light that it did happen, denying that it involved the sanctions. Flynn finally was reduced to claiming that he did not recall whether sanctions came up or not when his position eventually became too untenable to survive at his post.
He almost certainly misled both the president and Vice President Mike Pence.
Flynn has managed to give the president he served a black eye three weeks into his administration when it can ill afford it, denying Trump his experience and counsel in national security issues. Democrats, already amped up to full throttle in their opposition to the president, will certainly take advantage of the resignation to the full.
The first task Trump has is finding a replacement. Former UN Ambassador John Bolton and former CIA Director David Petraeus. Petraeus is still on parole for mishandling classified data, a misdemeanor conviction. He had resigned his post as CIA Director after the revelation of an extramarital affair with Paula Broadwell, his biographer with whom he shared the classified information.
Bolton, on the other hand, may be problematic as he takes a dim view of Russian aggression under President Vladimir Putin with whom Trump is keen to form an alliance against the ISIS terrorists.
The resignation takes place against the backdrop of an increasingly dangerous world. Russia and China are both engaged in imperialist adventures, the former in the Ukraine and Syria and the latter in the South China Sea and the East China Sea.
ISIS is still a threat to the American and European homelands, having pulled off a number of high casualty attacks. North Korea is testing missiles with which it means to launch nuclear weapons. Iran is also launching missiles and, despite the nuclear weapons deal, is likely continuing to pursue weapons of mass destruction clandestinely.
Fortunately, the post of national security advisor is not subject to Senate advice and consent, so Trump can get a replacement relatively quickly without having to deal with the delaying tactics the Democrats have been employing.
