McMaster be careful

Lieutenant-General HR McMaster is a good bloke, a brilliant strategist, an expert counter-insurgency commander, trusted by his military colleagues and probably the best mind in the White House as Trump's national security adviser. But McMaster made a mistake yesterday. He came forward, presumably under pressure from the bosses above him, to speak to the press about Jared Kushner. Actually, he didn't speak directly about Kushner, the 18-year-old (well, he looks 18 to me) son-in-law of the president and a multi-millionaire. But he did speak about secret back channels between governments in a general statement clearly aimed at clearing Kushner of any wrongdoing by trying to set up a communications link with the Russians, and, astonishingly, using Russian apparatus at their embassy in Washington to maintain the secret channel. It was a blatant attempt by the White House to push forward the most trusted official in the Trump administration to put a gloss on the Kushner/Moscow relationship. This is dangerous for McMaster. He has a reputation to keep and it could be seriously damaged if he tries to "interfere", even indirectly, in the FBI's investigation of the alleged collusion between the Trump election campaign team and the Russians. Now it's true that over history, the role of the secret back channel has played an important part in attempts to resolve tricky political challenges. Norway, for example, was used by the Clinton administration to engineer a proposed peace settlement between the Israelis and the Palestinians. And the British government used a very secret back channel to start peace talks with the Provisional IRA, using intermediaries. The ETA terrorist organisation also agreed eventually to lay down its arms following long and very secret negotiations in which leaders of the group met with intermediaries in Geneva and elsewhere. A British former special forces veteran played a role in that top secret operation, transporting ETA leaders in his car to the agreed meeting places. But McMaster is working for the most controversial president since Richard Nixon. Trump could even face impeachment the way things are going. Obviously McMaster has to be a loyal servant of the administration. He agreed to work for Trump. But to be used by Trump to tell the world that secret back channels were fine and dandy did NOT look good, General McMaster. Be careful to guard your reputation, do not always agree to do what your master bids, McMaster.