SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES

The Secretary of Defense shouldn’t be a political toy for the President

Jul 1, 2016, 5:04 PM | Updated: Jul 2, 2016, 9:41 pm

We’re seeing a politicization of government that I have never seen in my lifetime. The defense department itself has now become a political arm for the Democrats. It is effectively a division of the DNC.

Sec of Defense Ash Carter ‘politically’ announced that the Pentagon has ended the transgender military ban. This is such a transparent move. There seems to be nothing that this administration won’t jump on and support to consolidate their power.

This announcement comes the same week as the attacks in Turkey. The same week that a report came out that says the Taliban has added to their controlled territory.

Ash Carter’s statement that it is important to our recruiting that we allow people that identify as transgender into the military is ridiculous.

Mathematically it’s ridiculous. It’s sub one percent of the population. The total number that would make it through the training makes the number infinitesimal. And we are currently cutting the size of the military.

This is just a campaign scheme; like the women in combat was a campaign scheme.

Shouldn’t our focus be on the sleeper cells in the United States; or the fact that ISIS is expanding their territory? The Secretary of Defense shouldn’t be a political toy for the President.

Do I want transgender people to feel discriminated against? No. But I want the Secretary of Defense to “job this down” to some sort of a diversity director. The primary and only objective for a Secretary of Defense is to make sure this country is defended. Period.

FILE - Matsapha Correctional Complex is seen in Matsapha, near Mbabane, Eswatini, July 17, 2025. (A...

Associated Press

An immigrant deported by the US and held in an African prison for more than a year has been released

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — A Laotian citizen deported by the United States to Eswatini under the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown was released from a maximum-security prison in the African nation on Sunday after being held there for more than a year, his lawyer said. Phone Chomsavanh was among five immigrants deported to Eswatini […]

1 hour ago

(Photo courtesy of KIRO 7)...

KIRO Newsradio staff

Two men found dead after gunfire reported in downtown Tacoma

Police in Tacoma are investigating the deaths of two men following a shooting in the city's downtown area.

2 hours ago

Associated Press

2 shot dead and dozens injured at Vienna, Georgia, block party shooting

VIENNA, Georgia (AP) — Two people were shot to death and nearly three dozen others were injured at a block party early Sunday morning in Georgia, according to state law enforcement officials. Deputies from the Dooly County Sheriff’s Office were on patrol at a neighborhood block party around 1:25 a.m. Sunday in Vienna when shots […]

4 hours ago

Associated Press

Christa Pike’s lawyer says she has not regained consciousness since her failed Tennessee execution

Christa Pike has remained unconscious and on a ventilator at a hospital in the four days since her failed execution in Tennessee, and her prognosis might not be known for days more, one of her lawyers said Sunday. Little has been released about Pike’s condition since Wednesday night’s execution attempt. She has since remained hospitalized […]

5 hours ago

FILE - U.S. MV-22 Osprey transport aircraft are parked at the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma...

Associated Press

US Marine arrested for alleged murder of a woman on Okinawa, triggers outrage from Japan

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese police arrested a U.S. Marine in the alleged robbery and murder of a woman on Okinawa, officials said Sunday, the latest criminal case on the southern island where the heavy American troop presence has remained a sensitive issue. The Okinawa prefectural police said they arrested a 20-year-old Marine stationed at the […]

6 hours ago

FILE - Jay Clayton testifies during a Senate Intelligence Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol...

Associated Press

Trump names national intelligence director Jay Clayton to lead a new federal AI task force

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Sunday tapped Jay Clayton, his director of national intelligence, to lead a new government task force on artificial intelligence. Trump is calling it the “Super Intelligence Force,” because he has tried to rebrand AI as “super intelligence.” The announcement comes after Trump hosted top executives of AI companies […]

7 hours ago

The Secretary of Defense shouldn’t be a political toy for the President