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Trump Looks at Retired General Flynn as Possible Running Mate | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Defense Intelligence Agency director U.S. Army Lt. General Michael Flynn testifies before the House Intelligence Committee on “Worldwide Threats” in Washington February 4, 2014. REUTERS/Gary Cameron


Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is looking up to retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn as a possible vice presidential running mate, a Republican source familiar with the process stated.

For weeks Trump has conducted weeks of high-profile canvassing of Republican political stalwarts as part of his running mate search, noting that he stated clearly his search for a military leader.

The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Flynn has emerged as a possibility.

For instance, the advantages surrounding Flynn is that the latter has been a foreign policy adviser to Trump, and thus he would be able to help in the area of national security at a time of challenges abroad like the threat from ISIS.

Trump is also considering a more conventional political choice for his running mate, such as former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich, Indiana Governor Mike Pence or New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

Flynn was chief of the Defense Intelligence Agency under President Barack Obama from 2012-2014.

He has spoken in the past about wanting the United States to work more closely with Russia to resolve global security issues.

Moreover, Flynn has a book coming out next week, co-written with Michael Ledeen, titled: “The Field of Fight: How We Can Win the Global War Against Radical Islam and Its Allies.”