Best Defense
Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

Is Harward out?

I think we will know by the end of today. My gut feeling is that it is still on, and could be announced this afternoon.

By , a former contributing editor to Foreign Policy.
Jordan's Prince Faisal (L), Army's head of operations and training Major General Awni Adwan (C) and deputy commander of US Central Command, US Navy Vice Admiral Robert S. Harward (R) attend the "Eager Lion" joint military exercise at the King Abdullah Special Operations Training Centre in Amman on May 27, 2012. The exercise conducted by the U.S. and Jordan includes more than 19 countries from five different continents and more than 12,000 participants, according to the United States Central Command. AFP PHOTO/KHALIL MAZRAAWI (Photo credit should read KHALIL MAZRAAWI/AFP/GettyImages)
Jordan's Prince Faisal (L), Army's head of operations and training Major General Awni Adwan (C) and deputy commander of US Central Command, US Navy Vice Admiral Robert S. Harward (R) attend the "Eager Lion" joint military exercise at the King Abdullah Special Operations Training Centre in Amman on May 27, 2012. The exercise conducted by the U.S. and Jordan includes more than 19 countries from five different continents and more than 12,000 participants, according to the United States Central Command. AFP PHOTO/KHALIL MAZRAAWI (Photo credit should read KHALIL MAZRAAWI/AFP/GettyImages)
Jordan's Prince Faisal (L), Army's head of operations and training Major General Awni Adwan (C) and deputy commander of US Central Command, US Navy Vice Admiral Robert S. Harward (R) attend the "Eager Lion" joint military exercise at the King Abdullah Special Operations Training Centre in Amman on May 27, 2012. The exercise conducted by the U.S. and Jordan includes more than 19 countries from five different continents and more than 12,000 participants, according to the United States Central Command. AFP PHOTO/KHALIL MAZRAAWI (Photo credit should read KHALIL MAZRAAWI/AFP/GettyImages)

 

 

I think we will know by the end of today. My gut feeling is that it is still on, and could be announced this afternoon.

But if Admiral Robert Harward’s appointment as national security advisor isn’t announced today, it probably means he will not get or take the job. That’s a big difference from what I wrote yesterday. But these are not normal times. This morning, when I asked someone involved in the administration’s discussions what the situation is, he said, “I don’t know.”

Meantime, Army Maj. M.L. Cavanaugh has a good piece on the lessons for military professionals of the rise and fall of General Flynn.

Photo credit: KHALIL MAZRAAWI/AFP/GettyImages

Thomas E. Ricks is a former contributing editor to Foreign Policy. Twitter: @tomricks1

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