--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Lieutenant General Michael Flynn ran the…" description: "\"Lieutenant General Michael Flynn ran the defense intelligence agency from 2012 to 2014. He served as a top national intelligence adviser to General Sta..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec5/lawrence-o-donnell-1701_adviser_lieutenant-general-michael-flynn-ran-the_1932034.jpg" --- # Lieutenant General Michael Flynn ran the defense… ![“Lieutenant General Michael Flynn ran the defense intelligence agency from 2012 to 2014. He served as a top national intelligence adviser to General Stanley McChrystal in Iraq.” quote by Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec5/lawrence-o-donnell-1701_adviser_lieutenant-general-michael-flynn-ran-the_1932034.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec5/lawrence-o-donnell-1701_adviser_lieutenant-general-michael-flynn-ran-the_1932034.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec5/lawrence-o-donnell-1701_adviser_lieutenant-general-michael-flynn-ran-the_1932034.jpg) > “Lieutenant General Michael Flynn ran the defense intelligence agency from 2012 to 2014. He served as a top national intelligence adviser to General Stanley McChrystal in Iraq.” [Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A brief factual statement about Flynn’s tenure and role, emphasizing his high‑level intelligence experience. **In simple terms:** Flynn held senior intelligence positions. Key Takeaway Recognize the impact of leadership roles. Themes politics leadership intelligence career history Mood neutral informative critical Type journalistic historical When to use this quote - news analysis - political commentary - historical research - career studies Key Concepts government service military hierarchy policy influence Questions to Reflect On - What were the consequences of his decisions? - How does his background affect current policy? A Different Perspective Limited context may lead to oversimplification. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adviser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adviser/) [Agency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agency/) [Defense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defense/) [Defense Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defense-intelligence-3029759/) [Intelligence Adviser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence-adviser-3029758/) [Intelligence agencies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence-agencies/) [Intelligence Agency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence-agency-318806/) [Investigation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investigation/) [Iraq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/iraq/) [Lieutenants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lieutenants/) [Michael Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/michael-flynn-674851/) [National intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/national-intelligence/) [Ran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ran/) [Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stanley/) ## Related quotes > [I'm just learning that according to a source familiar with the transition process, President-elect Donald Trump intends to select Lieutenant General Michael Flynn as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/i-m-just-learning-that-according-to-a-source-familiar-with-the/) [Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/) > [Lieutenant General Michael Flynn would fit into that broader pattern.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/lieutenant-general-michael-flynn-would-fit-into-that-broader-pattern/) [Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/) > [I don't even call it violence when it's in self defense; I call it intelligence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/i-don-t-even-call-it-violence-when-it-s-in-self-defense-i-call-it/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Michael Flynn is a very controversial figure for a variety of reasons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/michael-flynn-is-a-very-controversial-figure-for-a-variety-of-reasons/) [Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/) > [Michael Flynn was one of Trump's top national security advisors throughout the campaign.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/michael-flynn-was-one-of-trump-s-top-national-security-advisors/) [Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/) > [ \[Michael Flynn is\] controversial among many people in the national security establishment, many people in the Republican mainstream. The thing about this appointment that,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/michael-flynn-is-controversial-among-many-people-in-the-national/) [Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/) > [Michael Flynn not exactly cut from that cloth. Someone who has very strong views about almost everything in the realm of national security and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/michael-flynn-not-exactly-cut-from-that-cloth-someone-who-has-very/) [Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/) > [Our intelligence community needs better coordination of operations and exchange of information, and that's why we need an overall director of national intelligence and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-ramstad/our-intelligence-community-needs-better-coordination-of-operations/) [Jim Ramstad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-ramstad/) > [As Director of National Intelligence, I am entrusted with access to more intelligence than any member of the U.S. government other than the president.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ratcliffe/as-director-of-national-intelligence-i-am-entrusted-with-access-to/) [John Ratcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ratcliffe/) > [The intelligence community's 2002 National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) stated, in a formal presentation to President Bush and to Congress, its view that Saddam had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-silberman/the-intelligence-community-s-2002-national-intelligence-estimate-nie/) [Laurence Silberman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-silberman/) > [ I was hoping to catch \[Vladimir\] Putin in a lie - like what happened to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper \[in his congressional… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/i-was-hoping-to-catch-vladimir-putin-in-a-lie-like-what-happened-to/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [I would have never thought that I would hear myself saying that the president of the United States is afraid of the CIA. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-mcgovern/i-would-have-never-thought-that-i-would-hear-myself-saying-that-the/) [Ray McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-mcgovern/) > [We want the National Intelligence, we want the Police, we want the Scorpions, any other institutions, the tax people, and so on, the totality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thabo-mbeki/we-want-the-national-intelligence-we-want-the-police-we-want-the/) [Thabo Mbeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thabo-mbeki/) > [“The Snowden revelations have also exposed the fact that senior officials, particularly America's Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, have not been fully frank…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-lucas/the-snowden-revelations-have-also-exposed-the-fact-that-senior/) [Edward Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-lucas/) > [Improving our national intelligence capabilities should remain a top priority and a continual process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blanche-lincoln/improving-our-national-intelligence-capabilities-should-remain-a-top/) [Blanche Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blanche-lincoln/) ## More by Lawrence O'Donnell > [All writers are forced to live within deadlines, and deadlines determine how good they can be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/all-writers-are-forced-to-live-within-deadlines-and-deadlines/) [Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/) > [The question for the Republicans running the confirmation hearings in the United States Senate is whose rules are they going to use?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/the-question-for-the-republicans-running-the-confirmation-hearings-in/) [Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/) > [Prosecutors have absolutely no control over what witnesses say when they leave the grand jury room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/prosecutors-have-absolutely-no-control-over-what-witnesses-say-when/) [Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/) > [Because Republicans defected and voted with all the Democrats to reject Jeff Sessions' nomination when they discovered that when he was working as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/because-republicans-defected-and-voted-with-all-the-democrats-to/) [Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/) > [ In this case, the government will essentially be run by the people who are running it now. The top level \[Barack\] Obama appointees will… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/in-this-case-the-government-will-essentially-be-run-by-the-people-who/) [Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/) > [I've never understood the value of putting someone on television to lie, knowing that they're going to lie ahead of time, knowing that that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/i-ve-never-understood-the-value-of-putting-someone-on-television-to/) [Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/) > [The Trump view of immigration defies our history. Immigration is a transaction that has historically benefited the country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/the-trump-view-of-immigration-defies-our-history-immigration-is-a/) [Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/) > [ I don't think anybody knows it was Russia that broke into the DNC. She \[Hillary Clinton\] is saying Russia, Russia, Russia. Maybe it was.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/i-don-t-think-anybody-knows-it-was-russia-that-broke-into-the-dnc-she/) [Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/) > [If a reader comes across a story that makes them cry, you can be sure that the writer felt every single thing that makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/if-a-reader-comes-across-a-story-that-makes-them-cry-you-can-be-sure/) [Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/) > [National security advisors are not there to be advocates, generally. They're not there to be partisans, they're not there to be ideologues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/national-security-advisors-are-not-there-to-be-advocates-generally/) [Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/) > [Never once has Republican world said hey, maybe we should look into how police officers are carrying out their solemn public responsibility to serve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/never-once-has-republican-world-said-hey-maybe-we-should-look-into/) [Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/) > [When Ronald Reagan nominated Jeff Sessions for federal district court judgeship, the Senate Judiciary Committee rejected his nomination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/when-ronald-reagan-nominated-jeff-sessions-for-federal-district-court/) [Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/) > [Show business comes with wonderfully long vacations, like the life of a college professor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/show-business-comes-with-wonderfully-long-vacations-like-the-life-of/) [Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/) > [It is amazing that Jeff Sessions is still in the job. Any self-respecting Attorney General of the United States would have publicly resigned as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/it-is-amazing-that-jeff-sessions-is-still-in-the-job-any-self/) [Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/) > [Melania Trump's husband tweeted this: "Arianna Huffington is unattractive both inside and out. I fully understand why her former husband left her for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/melania-trump-s-husband-tweeted-this-arianna-huffington-is/) [Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/) [Explore all 214 Lawrence O'Donnell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/) ## More Adviser quotes > [In 1949 there was a new thing called Television, to which my agency and advisers opposed as a performance medium.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loretta-young/in-1949-there-was-a-new-thing-called-television-to-which-my-agency/) [Loretta Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loretta-young/) > [President Bush deliberately did not apologize for things and that’s because advisers around him, including those there, felt that the press corps would jump…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gregory/president-bush-deliberately-did-not-apologize-for-things-and-that-s/) [David Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gregory/) > [The best adviser is God, the good listener is heart but the mind of person always confused.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meicee/the-best-adviser-is-god-the-good-listener-is-heart-but-the-mind-of/) [Meicee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meicee/) > [No adviser to a president is going to get his way all of the time, but at a minimum, that adviser should be able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/no-adviser-to-a-president-is-going-to-get-his-way-all-of-the-time-but/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [Men tend to leave their financial adviser at a single-digit-percent rate in any given year. And women leave their husband and their joint financial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sallie-krawcheck/men-tend-to-leave-their-financial-adviser-at-a-single-digit-percent/) [Sallie Krawcheck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sallie-krawcheck/) > [Steve Bannon, too, needs to be a unifier, doesn't he, as the senior adviser.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megyn-kelly/steve-bannon-too-needs-to-be-a-unifier-doesn-t-he-as-the-senior/) [Megyn Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megyn-kelly/) > [Asking for advice is an act of humility… The act alone says, "I need you." The decision maker and the adviser are pushed into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-bakke/asking-for-advice-is-an-act-of-humility-the-act-alone-says-i-need-you/) [Dennis Bakke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-bakke/) > [It is the lawyers who run our civilization for us -- our governments, our business, our private lives. Most legislators are lawyers; they make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-rodell/it-is-the-lawyers-who-run-our-civilization-for-us-our-governments-our/) [Fred Rodell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-rodell/) > [The truth then is, that the Russian Comintern is still confessedly engaged in endeavoring to foment war in order to facilitate revolution, and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-fahey/the-truth-then-is-that-the-russian-comintern-is-still-confessedly/) [Denis Fahey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-fahey/) > [French troops arrived in Afghanistan last week, and not a minute too soon. The French are acting as advisers to the Taliban, to teach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/french-troops-arrived-in-afghanistan-last-week-and-not-a-minute-too/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [Republicans want to punish work and reward wealth; hence the high payroll tax and the low dividend tax. Said one Bush economic adviser, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-begala/republicans-want-to-punish-work-and-reward-wealth-hence-the-high/) [Paul Begala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-begala/) > [As for Vietnam, what matters is that Kennedy successfully resisted pressure to send anything more than military advisers, a stance that was a likely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dallek/as-for-vietnam-what-matters-is-that-kennedy-successfully-resisted/) [Robert Dallek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dallek/) > [If economists were good at business, they would be rich men instead of advisers to rich men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-kerkorian/if-economists-were-good-at-business-they-would-be-rich-men-instead-of/) [Kirk Kerkorian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-kerkorian/) > [I am deeply worried about Donald Trump on matters of national security. He doesn't know anything himself about it, and he has appointed a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/i-am-deeply-worried-about-donald-trump-on-matters-of-national/) [Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/) > [For all the popularity of spiritual advisers in South Korea, it still shocks to see the leaders of huge public companies relying on fortune-tellers.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-young-ha/for-all-the-popularity-of-spiritual-advisers-in-south-korea-it-still/) [Kim Young-ha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-young-ha/) [Browse all 208 Adviser quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adviser/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Lieutenant General Michael Flynn ran the defense intelligence agency from 2012 to 2014. 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