It looks like it's going to be the "Warrior Monk" for Secretary of Defense.
Here's why I think Mattis will be an excellent Secretary of Defense:
First, Mattis is going to stop/reverse the idiotic social engineering that gets put on the armed services. He's not going to be worried about the politically correct stuff.
Second, I think he's going to be pushing for sensible ROE policies for the men and women who are at the tip of the spear. If we send an Iowa kid into some hell-hole on the far side of the world, he's going to make sure that the kid from Iowa has rules in place to engage the enemy that make sense.
Oh, and he cares about his Marines. Go find the story that everyone will be telling you in the next few days and weeks about Mattis and Christmas guard duty. Just remember I told you here, first.
Third, I think he's going to honestly focus on war-fighting and making the military the best that it can be at killing the enemy and breaking their things. That's what the military does, campers - it's there to kill people and break things. The military isn't there to be some social experiment, or be some progressive enclave of social justice. However, Mattis is going to try and avoid conflict if possible because he knows the cost. He's seen it firsthand. But, as he's said, "there are some assholes in the world that just need to be shot".
Fourth, he's also going to do this job with a sense of history, so he's not going to ever find himself at a loss for a sense of how things can go wrong. He's such a student of history, he carried his own personal copy of the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius throughout his deployments.
Finally, and most importantly, he's going to tell things to his boss (the President) like it is. He's not going to live in a fantasy world, he's not going to hide the truth, and he's not going to avoid the hard questions. I think President Trump is getting someone in Mattis who is not going to be intimidated by the oval office and try and cover things up or mask the hard choice. Mattis is too smart for that, and he's not a political hack. He's a professional war-fighter. Trump is getting someone who will force him to think and make tough decisions rather than provide easy outs.
Oh, and he cares about his Marines. Go find the story that everyone will be telling you in the next few days and weeks about Mattis and Christmas guard duty. Just remember I told you here, first.
Third, I think he's going to honestly focus on war-fighting and making the military the best that it can be at killing the enemy and breaking their things. That's what the military does, campers - it's there to kill people and break things. The military isn't there to be some social experiment, or be some progressive enclave of social justice. However, Mattis is going to try and avoid conflict if possible because he knows the cost. He's seen it firsthand. But, as he's said, "there are some assholes in the world that just need to be shot".
Fourth, he's also going to do this job with a sense of history, so he's not going to ever find himself at a loss for a sense of how things can go wrong. He's such a student of history, he carried his own personal copy of the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius throughout his deployments.
Finally, and most importantly, he's going to tell things to his boss (the President) like it is. He's not going to live in a fantasy world, he's not going to hide the truth, and he's not going to avoid the hard questions. I think President Trump is getting someone in Mattis who is not going to be intimidated by the oval office and try and cover things up or mask the hard choice. Mattis is too smart for that, and he's not a political hack. He's a professional war-fighter. Trump is getting someone who will force him to think and make tough decisions rather than provide easy outs.
The other big thing about Mattis is that he believes in alliances. He'll push Trump on NATO and why it's important to have allies around the world. Mattis is a realist, and he'll push back against Trump's tendencies to move away from allies.
ReplyDeleteAnother really fine thing about him is that he did not attend one of our Service Academies - not Naval Academy, not West Point - I think the entrenched officer corps is a swamp that needs to be drained - ever since they dropped the requirement that an academy graduate be an engineer - i think quality slid - and when you can point to graduates like Wesley Clarke and Colin Powell - Westmoreland, Burns- and dare I say, John McCain,- we can do better - but will not if we do not look for an outsider. Not to say that every Service Academy is bad - but they should be selected on merit - not because the attended an academy
ReplyDeleteit is a never
ReplyDeleteI have never understood just how Lindsay Graham managed to graduate from West Point
their attrition rate is much too low
Holee cow. Smyril, that is some weapons grade stupid right there. First, not sure which "Burns" you are blathering about, but neither Colin Powell or Lindsey Graham attended West Point. As an FYI, academy graduates are actually one of the most heavily attritted groups (especially after their five year commitment)and a vast majority do not reach flag rank.
ReplyDelete