Admiral who oversaw bin Laden raid dares Trump to revoke his clearance

Retired Navy Adm. William McRaven, who oversaw the raid under President Obama that took out Osama bin Laden, called on Trump to revoke his security clearance like he did with former CIA Director John Brennan.

“I would consider it an honor if you would revoke my security clearance as well, so I can add my name to the list of men and women who have spoken up against your presidency,” McRaven wrote in an op-ed published in the Washington Post.

Despite his hopes that Trump would step up to the task of the office he holds, McRaven said, Trump’s actions have “embarrassed us in the eyes of our children, humiliated us on the world stage and, worst of all, divided us as a nation.”

He called Brennan “one of the finest public servants I have ever known,” and described the effort to silence him and other critics as “McCarthy-era tactics” doomed to backfire.

Early in Trump’s presidency, McRaven slammed him for calling the media the “enemy” of the American people.

“This sentiment may be the greatest threat to democracy in my lifetime,” he said at the time.

On Thursday, the Senate unanimously voted to condemn Trump’s attacks on the free press.

McRaven served in the Navy for 37 years, retiring in 2014. From 2008 to 2011, he served as commander of Joint Special Operations Command.

In May 2011, McRaven oversaw Operation Neptune Spear, the mission authorized by President Obama to take out bin Laden.

A team of U.S. Navy SEALs launched an assault on a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where the fugitive al Qaeda leader was hiding.

The mission killed bin Laden, who was of course responsible for the 9/11 attacks, as well as the attacks on the USS Cole and U.S. embassies in East Africa.

McRaven has had to make important calls that balance the safety of the United States with the safety of military members put in harm’s way. He has dealt with presidential leadership who had to make even harder calls than he did.

It is with that background that he has spoken out against Trump in unambiguous language.

When a figure like McRaven so clearly points out Trump’s unsuitability for office, it speaks volumes about how far off-track Trump has taken the country.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.