Trump considering several retired generals for Pentagon chief

US President-elect Donald Trump is considering several retired military generals as possible picks to head the Defense Department, including David Petraeus, according to a new media report.

Petraeus, a retired military general and former CIA director, is among those being considered to be secretary of defense, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people with knowledge of the transition process.

Petraeus is expected to visit with Trump in New Jersey, transition officials said Friday.

Also under consideration as Pentagon chief are retired US Army General Jack Keane and retired Marine General James Mattis, The Journal said.

Former national security adviser Stephen Hadley and former Senator Jim Talent are also being considered for the post.

Keane, who was advising Trump’s presidential campaign, met with the president-elect on Thursday, transition officials said.

Officials have said that the Trump campaign also is still considering at least two current and former lawmakers for defense secretary, including Senator Tom Cotton, a republican from Arkansas and former Army captain who served in the Senate since last year and Jim Talent, a retired Republican senator from Missouri.

Several of Trump’s cabinet appointments have deepened concerns among Muslim Americans about an anti-Islamic White House.

American civil rights organizations and Muslim leaders said Friday they were disturbed by Trump’s national security picks noted for harshly anti-Muslim rhetoric.

Some current and former US government officials are also concerned that Trump’s appointments could reinforce perceptions among Muslims that Washington is at war against the Islamic religion.

The news of the appointments come as the United States has seen a dramatic rise in hate crimes against Muslims and other minorities following Trump’s victory in the presidential election.

On Friday, retired US Army lieutenant general Michael Flynn accepted Trump’s offer to serve as national security adviser. Flynn has a history of making incendiary and Islamophobic statements that have drawn criticism from his own military peers.

US Senator Jeff Sessions, a Republican from Alabama and the president-elect’s designee for attorney general, has supported Trump’s call for a temporary halt on Muslim immigrants entering the country.

And Representative Mike Pompeo, a Republican from Kansas and Trump’s pick for CIA director, has accused Muslim leaders across the US of not doing enough to stand up to terrorism. He has also been an outspoken critic of the nuclear agreement with Iran.

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