AN:

In Washington, they call them the “Axis of Adults” — Defense Secretary James Mattis, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly, National Security Adviser Herbert McMaster, CIA Director Mike Pompeo and Nikki Haley, the ambassador to the UN.
These are the pillars of the Trump-Pence administration, if not the pillars of the state. Other influential stakeholders exist. There is the wing led by Jared Kushner, son-in-law of the president, which includes his Wall Street friends Gary Cohen and Dina Habib Powell, who is deputy national security adviser. There is also a rival wing led by Donald Trump’s top adviser, the hawkish Steve Bannon.

The so-called Axis of Adults has taken advantage of the tension between the two in the White House to make inroads into Trump’s heart and mind. In recent weeks, Trump seems to have become more presidential, closely consulting with these pillars of the administration in a departure from the arbitrariness that had marked his first days in the White House. But how will these generals influence the administration, the Department of State and the envoy to the UN in shaping a coherent foreign policy, and what underpins their strategic thinking when it comes to international relations?

David Petraus, the retired four-star general, knows what cloth they are cut from. He has described these generals as an exceptional team. He has said that their thinking is not confined to military matters but is strategic and political par excellence. Addressing the Asia Society in New York, Petraeus said Nikki Haley was “simply spectacular” for standing up to Russia and “shaming people with style.” Of Mattis, his friend, he said he is one of the most “awesome” political and military strategists, and he had similar words of praise for Tillerson, Pompeo, Kelly and McMaster.

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