Michael Flynn Differs With Donald Trump on Key Issues

Donald Trump's newly appointed national security adviser, retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, wrote a book this year about how to win the war against terrorism. And he articulated some positions that stand at odds with what the president-elect has said throughout the course of his campaign.

Flynn was a prominent surrogate for Trump during the general-election campaign, often speaking out on his behalf.

He seems to agree with Trump on some key points — like keeping the "element of surprise" in US military strategy and identifying "radical Islamic terrorism" as such. But on some others — like posture toward Russia and the broader US role in the world — he has voiced viewpoints on the opposite spectrum.

Trump, for instance, has often said that the US should work with Russia to defeat terrorist groups like ISIS in the Middle East.

But Flynn wrote in his book, "The Field of Fight: How We Can Win the Global War Against Radial Islam and Its Allies," that Russia is not a friend to the US.

"Like our own 'experts,' the Russians do not well understand Radical Islam, and the jihadis have exploited this ignorance to the point where one of the country's true experts on Islam has shown that official government policies in essence pay for the growth of the radical organizations," he wrote.

He wrote later in that same chapter: "When it is said that Russia would make an ideal partner for fighting Radical Islam, it behooves us to remember that the Russians haven't been very effective at fighting jihadis on their own territory, and are in cahoots with the Iranians."

Flynn also wrote that the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad isn't actually fighting terrorists, as the dictator so claims.

Trump also seems to disagree with this line of thought — he said during a presidential debate, "I don't like Assad at all, but Assad is killing ISIS."

Flynn also wrote about the necessity of bolstering US alliances. Trump, on the other hand, insisted repeatedly throughout the campaign that the NATO alliance is "obsolete." He repeatedly questioned its value, insisting that the US needs to convince its allies to contribute more to their own defense or else risk losing US support.

"We can win this thing," Flynn wrote of the war on terrorism. "But only with good leaders capable of galvanizing the country, restoring morale and better intelligence to the military and the intelligence community, and establishing new and rebuilding our current international alliances."

He continued: "Our new leaders are going to have to undo the alienation of traditional friends from Europe and the Middle East to South Asia and Latin America."

Flynn has since said, however, that he agrees with Trump that there needs to be more reciprocity from NATO allies.

Flynn's views as articulated in his book also seem to stand at odds with Trump's worldview at large — that the US needs to concern itself with its own interests above all others. He often spoke about his "America first" strategy, which critics characterized as "isolationist," during the campaign.

Flynn, on the other hand, wrote that the US should be advancing democracy around the world.

"If you're really interested in advancing freedom (which I fervently believe is in our American national interest), you should fight against our vocal enemies," Flynn wrote.

He continued later: "America is the one truly revolutionary country in the world, and part of our national mission is to support democratic revolutionaries against their oppressors."

That would, in theory, include countries like Syria, which is currently in the midst of a brutal civil war. Rebels have been seeking to oust the brutal Assad regime for more than five years. The US has provided some support to the rebels and has called for Assad to step down, but has stopped short of direct military strikes against the regime.

Flynn also wrote that people seeking freedom in Muslim countries "invariably call out to [the US] for support, knowing that American traditional and values and, eventually, American leadership is their only chance to gain liberty," including the Kurdish and Free Syrian Army forces fighting in Syria.

"We, the United States of America, are their hope for salvation," Flynn wrote.

He argued that the US aiding Muslims in their fight for freedom is crucial to winning the broader fight against terrorism.

"What are we waiting for? Delay is dangerous to our cause," Flynn wrote. "The people eventually decide revolutionary wars, and if the Muslim masses can't get any support from the United States, they will eventually throw in with the jihadis."

Trump, however, has said that he "would have stayed out of Syria" entirely.

Flynn wrote the book with another author, neoconservative historian Michael Ledeen, but its contents are still from a first-person point-of-view into Flynn's worldview.

Flynn was formerly the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, and he spent years fighting terrorist groups in Iraq and Afghanistan. Flynn was fired from the DIA in 2014, and he claims it's because he took a stand about "radical Islam."

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