WASHINGTON – A celebrated retired admiral who berated President DonaldTrump as “embarrassing” to the country has stepped down from his positionon an influential Defense Department advisory body, the Pentagon saidThursday.
Admiral William McRaven, who supervised the 2014 Special Forces raid inPakistan that killed al Qaeda kingpin Osama Bin Laden, resigned last monthfrom the Defense Innovation Board, said Pentagon spokeswoman Lt. Col.Michelle Baldanza.
The resignation was effective on August 20, four days after McRavenpublished a scathing open letter to Trump in the Washington Post, blastingthe president for punishing another critic, former CIA director JohnBrennan, by ordering Brennan´s security clearance revoked.
Calling Brennan “one of the finest public servants I have ever known,”McRaven wrote that “it would be an honour” to have his own securityclearance revoked as well.
“Through your actions, you have embarrassed us in the eyes of our children,humiliated us on the world stage and, worst of all, divided us as anation,” McRaven said.
“If you think for a moment that your McCarthy-era tactics will suppress thevoices of criticism, you are sadly mistaken,” he said.
The letter resonated deeply, as few serving and former military officershad joined in the strong open criticism of Trump from the intelligencecommunity and bureaucracy.
The Defense Innovation Board brings together top private sectortechnologists and scientists to advise the Pentagon and the Secretary ofDefense. – APP/AFP