Subscribe now

NSC moves senseless

It makes no sense to demote four-star Marine Gen. Joseph “Fighting Joe” Dunford from the National Security Council into on-call status and replace his permanent status with a former Navy lieutenant with seven years of experience. Gen. Dunford is the defense chief of staff who has 40 years of military experience, including commands in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The former Navy lieutenant is an expert in domestic political strategy and should be used as an on-call resource, but not a permanent member. Also, conservative Republican Indiana Sen. Dan Coats, the future head of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), should not have been demoted to on-call status. The DIA coordinates domestic intelligence agencies with the CIA’s overseas expertise.

Big ideas will fall short unless there is expert implementation. The new administration should start respecting the expertise of people such as Gen. Dunford and former Ambassador Ryan Crocker so we can avoid future “regrettable” poorly implemented actions that actually hurt our national defense.

Margaret Mortz

Spokane Valley

Letters policy

The Spokesman-Review invites original letters on local topics of public interest. Your letter must adhere to the following rules:

  • No more than 250 words
  • We reserve the right to reject letters that are not factually correct, racist or are written with malice.
  • We cannot accept more than one letter a month from the same writer.
  • With each letter, include your daytime phone number and street address.
  • The Spokesman-Review retains the nonexclusive right to archive and re-publish any material submitted for publication.

Unfortunately, we don’t have space to publish all letters received, nor are we able to acknowledge their receipt. (Learn more.)

Submit letters using any of the following:

Our online form
Submit your letter here
Mail
Letters to the Editor
The Spokesman-Review
999 W. Riverside Ave.
Spokane, WA 99201
Email
editor@spokesman.com
Fax
(509) 459-3815
Phone
(509) 459-5430

Read more about how we crafted our Letters to the Editor policy