Friday 9 August 2024

Who would be in Kamala Harris's cabinet?

Much has still to be known about how a President Kamala Harris would confront the world's challenges. One key question is who she would pick to be her chief security policy officials. Can it be taken for granted that she would ask Antony Blinken to stay on as secretary of state, and Jake Sullivan as national security adviser? Both have performed brilliantly under Joe Biden and built up excellent reputations amongst American allies. It's possible, of course, that even if offered their current jobs, they might choose to leave government after such an arduous four years. But normally when given the privilege of serving their country, they would accept the burden for another four years. Certainly, a Harris administration without Blinken and Sullivan might struggle in the early months. Lloyd Austin as defence secretary has been a steady figure in the administration without being either provocative or particularly influential. His decision to overturn the judgement made by a top Pentagon official to approve the plea deal for three Guantanamo detainees accused of masterminding 9/11 may have pleased victims' families and all Republicans but it means the Guantanamo issue will never be resolved and the trial of the accused, if it ever goes ahead, will be all about the torture they endured at the hands of their CIA interrogators. The more courageous decision would have been for Austin NOT to have intervened. So perhaps he will not remain at the Pentagon. If Trump wins the presidency, he won't care about closing Guantanamo and whoever he chooses as defence secretary would be under orders to spend more money on the deteriorating detention camp and stop all plea deals.

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