Donald Trump’s national-security team takes shape

WHAT can be deduced from Donald Trump’s confirmed and likely picks for key national security posts? The answer is not much, apart from an apparent enthusiasm for generals—which is slightly odd, given the way Mr Trump lambasted them during the campaign for their failure to win America’s wars.

Mike Flynn, a retired military-intelligence general who guided Mr Trump’s views on national security throughout his campaign, and whose strident views on Islam were reflected in the candidate’s speeches, will be the national security adviser. General Flynn is a divisive figure, who spooks Republican foreign-policy thinkers as much as Mr Trump does. By contrast Jim Mattis, a former Marine general who is likely to be defence secretary, would reassure them; as would David Petraeus, another general, who has been mooted as a potential secretary of state if the job does not go to Mitt Romney. Despite General Mattis’s nickname, “Mad Dog” (earned for his aggression in combat and a talent for cheerfully menacing quotes), he is regarded as combining military dash with intellectual seriousness.