[Breitbart] NEW YORK ‐ H.R. McMaster, President Trump’s embattled national security adviser, labeled the September 11, 2001, Islamic terrorist attacks "mass murder attacks," instead of calling them acts of terrorism.
McMaster made the comments during a Tuesday event at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) marking the 70th anniversary of the National Security Council (NSC).
He was addressing the expansion of the NSC from about fifty members in the 1960s, when it was run by Henry Kissinger, another CSIS speaker, to its current size of more than 360 employees.
"What has contributed to the growth over time, as well, from 50 or so to 167 is the emphasis on homeland security, especially after the mass murder attacks on our country on September 11, 2001," McMaster stated.
McMaster was referring to about 167 policy workers at the NSC, which he explained employs about 360 people.
"We have made a conscious effort to reduce the size of the staff and to make sure that form follows function. As we devolve responsibilities back to departments and agencies, as we get out of, really, management of tactical issues, then we are able to reduce. So we have reduced significantly the numbers of policy people and overall staff. It was over four hundred or so at its peak. We are down to about 360-something now. That sounds like a lot. Of those 360, it’s really about 160 to 170 policy people. |