Thoughts on the Mattis Departure

 

When I first heard the news about James Mattis’s resignation, I wondered if Mattis knew before President Trump announced it on Twitter. The President tends to gracelessly announce these things on Twitter. However, I think the letter makes it pretty clear he did. Mattis mentions a time frame for departure. I doubt Trump would have been as specific without Mattis saying so.

Good on Mattis for getting out this way. More cabinet officials should resign before they’re fired in a Tweet. And good on him for defining the terms of his departure. If Trump up and fired him, I doubt there would have been time to wrap things up.

That being said, everyone should realize that, while Syria was probably the straw that broke the camel’s back, this wasn’t just about Syria. Mattis has had several major disagreements with Trump during his tenure.

Mattis is intelligent, thoughtful, professional, and honorable, which is the opposite of his boss. (Though in fairness to Donald Trump, he did have his own personal Vietnam.)

Among the areas where Mattis disagreed with Trump were:

  • Withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal
  • Banning transgender troops
  • The parade
  • Trump’s attitude toward NATO (Mattis would go around after every NATO summit and smooth things over)
  • Sending troops to the Mexican border

And those are just the ones we know. Mattis tended to publicly downplay any differences with his boss, so there may be plenty of others we just haven’t heard about.

Despite being overruled on several of those major issues, Mattis’s major accomplishment was limiting Trump. Mattis made a point to carve out his own fiefdom at Defense, mostly free of Trump-ite political appointments and interference. (I’m cool with that. I don’t want Stephen Miller meddling in the DoD.) He also probably saved the United States from a lot of disastrous military interventions.

There’s a good reason for Mattis’s restraint. Early in Trump’s tenure (January 29, 2017) there was a special forces raid in Yemen. It went very badly. Not only did they not capture the guy they were after, but a SEAL was killed along with between 10 and 30 civilians. Rather than take responsibility as commander-in-chief, Trump publicly threw the military leadership under the bus.

Much has been made about how, despite public bellicosity, Trump hasn’t started any new wars. I’ve heard some describe Trump’s “pacifism.” (How one can use that term is beyond me.) I actually credit Mattis for this. I think there were ideas that Mattis didn’t bring to Trump, knowing that, if things went badly, Trump wouldn’t accept responsibility.

Here’s the big problem:

There ain’t another Mattis out there. Anyone with Mattis’s combination of wisdom and intelligence won’t take the job. So his replacement will automatically be worse.

We’re heading into a couple of years where the President is going to be less stable and more desperate than ever before. Trump has already demonstrated that he’s willing to use the military for political stunts and probably will again in the future. Mattis was able to limit the damage by pushing back.

There’s a risk that Trump could accidentally get the US embroiled in a major foreign entanglement for the sake of immediate circumstances. Maybe a foreign leader says something mean about him. Maybe Ivanka comes to him with pictures of dead children. Maybe he needs to distract everyone from an investigation on a particular week.

This is a danger with all Presidents, far more of one with Trump, especially considering his tendency for extreme short-term thinking and utter amorality.

In other words: Mattis leaving makes everything worse. But I look forward to the contribution he’ll be making to the history of this period when he writes his memoir.

Published in Military, Politics
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  1. Columbo Inactive
    Columbo
    @Columbo

    Please connect these dots for me. President Trump is withdrawing our troops from other countries where they were deployed in war. Yet you condemn the President’s actions once again.

    This is a contradiction with everything you profess … including your avatar.

    • #1
  2. Hoyacon Member
    Hoyacon
    @Hoyacon

    Columbo (View Comment):

    Please connect these dots for me. President Trump is withdrawing our troops from other countries where they were deployed in war. Yet you condemn the President’s actions once again.

    This is a contradiction with everything you profess … including your avatar.

    Let’s give credit for a post that’s informative as to factual statements regarding Mattis’ tenure and his relations with Trump.  Still, it’s hard for me not to see the attempt to minimize “the precipitating factor.” When one constantly opposes our involvement in overseas entanglements, it’s probably good not to let one’s enmity towards the President overcome consistency.

    • #2
  3. kylez Member
    kylez
    @kylez

    Thinking transgenders should be in the military sounds like enough reason for me. 

    If you don’t know what sex you are supposed to be, you certainly don’t belong in the military.

    • #3
  4. Arizona Patriot Member
    Arizona Patriot
    @ArizonaPatriot

    Fred Cole:

    Among the areas where Mattis disagreed with Trump were:

    • Withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal
    • Banning transgender troops
    • The parade
    • Trump’s attitude toward NATO (Mattis would go around after every NATO summit and smooth things over)
    • Sending troops to the Mexican border

    And those are just the ones we know. Mattis tended to publicly downplay any differences with his boss, so there may be plenty of others we just haven’t heard about.

    I don’t have time to check this factually, but I doubt that you are correct.

    Here’s an article saying that Trump followed Mattis’s advice on the transgender issue.

    Here’s an article saying that Mattis agreed with Trump about the Iran deal.

    You gotta look out for fake news.  Fred, that’s not meant as an accusation, as you may well have been relying on sources that are not trustworthy, which (tragically) now seems to include most of the major news outlets.

     

    • #4
  5. She Member
    She
    @She

    Fred Cole: Mattis is intelligent, thoughtful, professional, and honorable

    Is this the same Fred Cole who told me that it was a bad idea to depend on a group of generals to save the Republic from a crisis?  And who told me that I was wrong to feel comfortable with the appointment of Kelly, Mattis, et. al?  Because military?

    I’m shocked.  Shocked.

    Fred Cole: There ain’t another Mattis out there. Anyone with Mattis’s combination of wisdom and intelligence won’t take the job. So his replacement will automatically be worse.

    Take heart, Fred.  At least Mattis’s replacement probably won’t be a general.

    My money’s on Rand Paul, actually.  

    Anyone?

    Fred Cole: In other words: Mattis leaving makes everything worse. But I look forward to the contribution he’ll be making to the history of this period when he writes his memoir.

    Well, we agree on that.  So let’s stop here.

     

    • #5
  6. Manny Coolidge
    Manny
    @Manny

    Sounds like Mattis should never have been there. If what you cite is correct (and I can see a couple of posters have already refuted it) he was wrong about everything. I can’t believe anyone with half a brain supports transgendered troops. 

    • #6
  7. EDISONPARKS Member
    EDISONPARKS
    @user_54742

    I like and respect General Mattis, and I’m uncomfortable he is leaving as Secretary of Defense.

    My first instinct would be to trust General Mattis’ military decisions over Trump.

    However, assuming your bullet points of disagreements between Trump and Mattis are correct:

    Among the areas where Mattis disagreed with Trump were:

    • Withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal
    • Banning transgender troops
    • The parade
    • Trump’s attitude toward NATO (Mattis would go around after every NATO summit and smooth things over)
    • Sending troops to the Mexican border

    I am very surprised to learn that I agree with Trump over Mattis on 4 of the 5 (ie: I always thought the parade was a waste of time, money, and certainly not worth wasting political capital by insisting on a grand military parade).

    So with only a 20% agreement with General Mattis maybe I need to re-evaluate my first instincts.

     

    (Update): New WSJ article:

    https://outline.com/Lm58Rn

    Forging strong relationships with allies around the world to protect the interests of the United States makes transgender troops and parades essentially a non issue.

    Always trust your first instinct.

     

    • #7
  8. WI Con Member
    WI Con
    @WICon

    Well I was a bit concerned yesterday but after seeing that list, I actually agree with Trump on four of the five (don’t need that parade). Bless Peter Robinson and his intellectual honesty in linking to Byron York.

     

    Sorry Edison Parks – I just saw your reply.

    • #8
  9. Fake John/Jane Galt Coolidge
    Fake John/Jane Galt
    @FakeJohnJaneGalt

    The man with an avatar that says the is “Already against the next war” is upset the Trump wants out of a war.  Love this new world.

    • #9
  10. Fred Cole Inactive
    Fred Cole
    @FredCole

    Arizona Patriot (View Comment):

    I don’t have time to check this factually, but I doubt that you are correct.

    If you’re gonna try to correct me, I’d suggest having the facts on your side.

    Mattis Contradicts Trump on Iran Deal Ahead of Crucial Deadline

    WASHINGTON — Days before President Trump has to make a critical decision on whether to hold up the Iran nuclear deal, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis openly split with him on abandoning the agreement, the second senior member of the president’s national security team to recently contradict him.

    Mr. Mattis told senators on Tuesday that it was in America’s interest to stick with the deal, which Mr. Trump has often dismissed as a “disaster.”

    “Absent indications to the contrary, it is something that the president should consider staying with,” Mr. Mattis told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee after being repeatedly pressed on the issue.

    Your Defense One article was after the fact, it was Mattis doing what he always did.  Publicly smoothing over any perceived differences with the boss.  The fourth paragraph of that story says “Last October, Mattis himself told lawmakers that it was in America’s interest to remain in the deal.”

    Wrt transgender troops, Mattis recommended allowing them to serve.

    So, Ash Carter had initiated a policy review, which Mattis inherited.  Near the end of that policy review Trump issued his edict by Tweet.  But the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs sat on it and waited for formal policy guidance, which Mattis backed.

    The whole thing is extremely complicated, but if you look at Mattis’s recommendations, they’re far more nuanced and trans-friendly than Trump’s vulgar position.

     

    • #10
  11. Fred Cole Inactive
    Fred Cole
    @FredCole

    Columbo (View Comment):

    Please connect these dots for me. President Trump is withdrawing our troops from other countries where they were deployed in war. Yet you condemn the President’s actions once again.

    This is a contradiction with everything you profess … including your avatar.

    Fake John/Jane Galt (View Comment):

    The man with an avatar that says the is “Already against the next war” is upset the Trump wants out of a war. Love this new world.

    You’re invited to read what I actually wrote.

    Thanks.

    • #11
  12. Fred Cole Inactive
    Fred Cole
    @FredCole

    She (View Comment):
    Is this the same Fred Cole who told me that it was a bad idea to depend on a group of generals to save the Republic from a crisis? And who told me that I was wrong to feel comfortable with the appointment of Kelly, Mattis, et. al? Because military?

    Well, when we had that conversation, I didn’t expect it to be thrown back in my face. 

    I don’t remember the exact context, but it seemed to me that you were more comfortable than I was that a group of generals might be in a position to save the Republic, which seemed like a bad position for a Republic to be in.

    I see no inconsistency.  Besides, its a moot point since all those generals are now gone.

    • #12
  13. She Member
    She
    @She

    Fred Cole (View Comment):

    She (View Comment):
    Is this the same Fred Cole who told me that it was a bad idea to depend on a group of generals to save the Republic from a crisis? And who told me that I was wrong to feel comfortable with the appointment of Kelly, Mattis, et. al? Because military?

    Well, when we had that conversation, I didn’t expect it to be thrown back in my face.

    Glory be, Fred, it’s not as if what you said is at all inconsistent with other thoughts you’ve expressed over the years about Donald Trump.  Or as if you ever made any secret of those thoughts.

    I don’t remember the exact context, but it seemed to me that you were more comfortable than I was that a group of generals might be in a position to save the Republic, which seemed like a bad position for a Republic to be in.

    I think, among other things, I was expressing confidence that a group of generals like Mattis, Kelly and Dunford were not the sort of folks to acquiesce to a takeover of the United States government by its military, with a view to installing Donald Trump as some sort of tinpot dictator.

    I see no inconsistency. Besides, its a moot point since all those generals are now gone.

    Exactly.  I am not sure that’s a good thing, though.  James Mattis is neither a fool nor a kook, and I wish we lived in a time in which policy differences between those with the lives of the country’s  young men and women in their hands were up for a rational airing and were not subject, every few years, to wild swings which appear to render recent sacrifices on their part questionable or superfluous.  I’m not sure that what used to be called “the long view” has any place in a world where instant gratification is the order of the day, and where, if the desired outcome isn’t achieved with about five minutes, the country loses heart and demands a sometimes unsettlingly radical change in direction.

    James Mattis didn’t get dumb overnight.  And Donald Trump didn’t become the greatest military strategist since Alexander the Great in that timeframe either.  That they have apparently been at unbridgeable odds, as Trump seems to have been with rather a lot of his hand-picked Cabinet and senior advisors over the past couple of years is telling, and not a comforting thought.  I’m not sure that it’s a situation that will lead to much introspection and serious reflection, though.  Heaven help us.

    I look forward to Mattis’s memoirs.  And I hope he enjoys a much-deserved rest and retirement.  And I hope his successor cares for the country and the troops at least one quarter as much as he does.

    • #13
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