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Albright: Still no national security plan from Trump
01:43 - Source: CNN

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Madeleine Albright questions Trump's preparedness for upcoming trip to Asia

Ex-secretary of state says many positions remained unfilled in State Department

CNN  — 

Former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said Thursday that she has yet to see a national security strategy emerge more than nine months into Donald Trump’s presidency.

“We do not know what the overall plan of the Trump administration is,” Albright said in an interview on CNN’s “New Day.”

“There is a general disregard of explaining,” she said, “not kind of tweeting and having political arguments, but truly trying to explain what the situation is.”

Albright’s remarks came as questions swirl over the recent deaths of four US soldiers in an ambush in Niger and as Trump gets ready to embark on a trip to Asia.

The former US chief diplomat expressed concern over the President’s preparedness for the upcoming trip, which will include visits to China, Japan and South Korea. She noted that many positions remain unfilled in the State Department.

“What is the support system for this?” she asked. “Where has the President gotten his briefings?”

Albright was secretary of state from 1997 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Before then, she was the US ambassador to the United Nations for four years.