Our national security is now in the hands of two men, Donald Trump and Steve Bannon, committed to ridding the world of allegedly evil Islamic forces. These men say that they only want to fight radical Islam but their language and actions suggest they are willing to threaten all Muslims. The President has promised great domestic changes but the only commitment so far has been to strengthen a military that is already stronger than the next seven countries combined. The danger of conflagration cannot be overestimated. Behind Trump and Bannon there is an oil autocracy that has no compunctions about sending people they will never know into harm's way.

The President is set on opposing Iran and dividing the Islamic world. The president's inner circle is filled with people of like mind. Foremost among them is Steve Bannon. Bannon is said to be smart. But the disastrous career of Robert McNamara shows that intelligence without wisdom can lead us into fatal quagmires. It is ironical that Trump now relies on generals but gives Bannon more power than any general to make policy.

Trump and Bannon share hatred for Islam in general

Hate powers both Steve Bannon and Donald Trump. This is not false or exaggerated. It is a clear warning to us all. I do not believe George W. Bush or Lyndon Johnson made their fatal mistakes out of hate. The harm done by these two past presidents exceeds what Trump has done so far.

Someone other than Trump in the oval office would be no guarantee against massive harm. But we may be facing something beyond the two great errors of our recent history. When Trump and Bannon depend on the noxious words of Pam Geller, I tremble.

"Peaceful men will be forced to resort to violence" if "freedom is crushed." So says Pam Geller, who is one of Bannon's favorite writers.

Geller is a leading hater of Islam. She is always ready to leap to the defense of Trump or Bannon She is a stalwart on Breitbart and other right-wing outlets.

Trump has given Bannon super-secret powers

The tweet embedded below leads to a FOX report which has a video with the latest on the game of musical chairs at the top of our national security pyramid. The story is pretty much unchanged. Steve Bannon could remain in a privileged spot on the NSC or not. Either way, he would still have the ear of the President.

Trump and his colleagues must be stopped

Violence against Islam is the intended evil that lurks in the hearts of Trump, Bannon, and Geller.

We know it is there from what they have said and the people they have savaged. If you have the power to put boots on the ground, you can set off yet another neocon round. The precipice is here and now.

We could be moving faster toward a clean energy world. We could be creating a sustainable economy. Instead, Trump, Geller and Bannon push us inexorably into conflict. This is why Trump must go. This is why we need a strong opposition. We need leaders with conscience and universal vision. Lethal ideas become lethal deeds. We cannot afford to march to the devastating tunes of Trump, Bannon and Geller.
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