As the Federalist reported, Sebastian Gorka, the colorful counterterrorism expert, is now no longer a Deputy Assistant to the President of the United States. Depending on who is telling the story, Gorka either resigned in disgust or was eased out by White House Chief Of Staff John Kelly.
Gorka releases blunt resignation letter
Gorka released a bluntly worded resignation letter in which he stated that those people in the administration who supported the president’s “make America great again” policies had been outmaneuvered by Washington insiders. The last straw seems to have been Trump’s Afghanistan speech in which mentions of “radical Islam” and “radical Islamic terrorism” had been conspicuously absent.
Gorka is known for his belief that Islam itself is inherently violent and not just a twisted interpretation of the worldwide religious faith.
Was Gorka pushed out?
Two White House sources suggest that White House Chief of Staff Kelly demanded and got Gorka’s resignation. The former deputy assistant disputes this claim and suggests that he is the victim of spinning by his enemies inside the White House staff.
What did Gorka do at the White House?
A recent profile of Gorka in the Atlantic noted that Gorka had no friends or allies in the counter terrorism establishment. He was a favorite, even before his White House appointment, on conservative talk radio and cable news for his critiques of Obama-era efforts to fight terrorism and jihadism, which Gorka found feckless.
However, his position that the faithful practice of Islam inevitably leads to violent terrorism was never taken seriously. Nevertheless many concede that Gorka has a point when he suggests that poverty and lack of education are not the root causes of jihadism. A lot of jihadis are well off and have university educations.
Gorka’s enemies accuse him of having a fake Ph.D.
and of having neo-Nazi ties. His resume does not stand up to scrutiny. Gorka’s main claim to fame has been his position as national security editor at Breitbart.
Nevertheless, Gorka, who assumes a suave, East European demeanor with a thick, Hungarian accent, spent a lot of time before and during his White House appointment arguing his position in the media.
Contrary to some of his detectors, that is not all he did. During his brief time at the White House, he worked on such issues as the Muslim Brotherhood, the Qatar Crisis, and Chinese economic warfare. However, it looks like that the conduct of foreign policy and national security policy is now firmly in the grasp of insider professionals and not outsiders such as Gorka. Whether this situation is a good or bad thing remains to be seen.
