Things the US wishes it had right now as it prepares for the aftermath of the killing of Suleimani:
1. A functioning and healthy transatlantic relationship rooted in mutual trust and consultation. "No European government praised the killing of General Suleimani, emphasizing instead the increased risks to their citizens, troops and interests." nyti.ms/2tuSl5d
2. A president that has a history of telling the truth. washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/…
3. A Pentagon that understands the danger of putting forward "extreme" options that they assume Trump won't select. slate.com/news-and-polit…
4. A government that is adequately staffed. For example, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict (SO/LIC) remains vacant. h/t @LukeHartig
5. Embassies that are adequately staffed. foreignpolicy.com/2018/04/09/map…
6. A president that takes regular intelligence briefings and respects/trusts the intelligence community. nbcnews.com/politics/natio…
7. A successful strategy on North Korea that didn't just result in the North Koreans lifting their moratorium on nuclear testing. nytimes.com/2019/12/31/wor…
8. GEN Jim Mattis as SecDef.
9. A functioning, trustworthy relationship between the executive and legislative branches of government.
10. A president that hadn't just betrayed Kurdish allies in Syria. ###
