Report: James Stavridis is being vetted to be Hillary Clinton's VP
Retired four-star Navy Admiral James G. Stavridis is being vetted by Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign to be her vice president, a source with knowledge of the vetting process told The New York Times.
Stavridis, 61, currently serves as dean of Tufts University's Fletcher School and previously served as the 16th supreme allied commander at NATO. During his four years in that job, he oversaw operations in the Middle East, in countries including Libya, Afghanistan and Syria and also oversaw piracy off the coast of Africa and in the Balkans.
According to the Times's report published Tuesday, Stavridis was investigated for improperly using a military aircraft to fly with his wife to a party in Burgundy, France. He was later cleared of misconduct.
His biography at The Fletcher School says Stavridis speaks French and Spanish.
The report comes a few weeks before the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
Donald Trump, meanwhile, has said he is also considering someone with a military background: retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn. Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich are some of the other possibilities.
He previously expressed concerns about the Iran deal negotiated by Obama administration officials and their counterparts from other countries.
"I'm deeply concerned about this deal because of the Iranian track record, and I think we have to use every means at our disposal to follow this," he said in an interview on Fox News radio in January. "I think there is the possibility that they will try and cheat on this deal and we need to know if they do. The second point is: we're dropping a golden shower of money on them, 100 to 150 billion dollars. A significant portion of that, in my view, will be used to facilitate wars, proxy wars, terrorism through Hezbollah. We're gonna see Iran as an Imperial Power moving through the region whether or not they have a nuclear weapon, so buckle up."
