James Mattis has resigned

Air Force7 said:
They say it is because he disagrees with President Trump’s decision to pull troops out of Syria.
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And yet, if you read his resignation letter, he claims to agree that the US Military should not be the “world policeman”, which is essentially what we are doing in not only Syria but the entire Middle East. It seems to me Trump is trying to get us out of another quagmire.
 
Tex232 said:
Air Force7 said:
They say it is because he disagrees with President Trump’s decision to pull troops out of Syria.
Click to expand...
And yet, if you read his resignation letter, he claims to agree that the US Military should not be the “world policeman”, which is essentially what we are doing in not only Syria but the entire Middle East. It seems to me Trump is trying to get us out of another quagmire.
Click to expand...
He mentions that we should not be the world's police but he also states that we have an obligation to support our allies in the area.
In any event, it's a sad day for the military. He was someone who we could always count on to speak truth to power.
 
Of course it (withdraw from Syria) would have to actually happen.
Declarations of this type often do not last beyond the news cycle they are intended to disrupt.
But for a man with such a sense of service to decide to walk away is regrettable.
Does anyone really think Mattis would resign for one single reason?
 
Interestingly, there was an article (2014, I believe) that has surfaced due to these events. In it, Mattis responded to a question about what it would take him to resign. He said something to the effect of it being an absolute last resort, when you need to send a message that can’t be sent any other way...because when you resign, the lance corporal still has to go fight without you. He can’t resign.
 
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THParent said:
I will miss him as a sounding board to glean information about whether something is stupid , or not.
He was my litmus test in Washington.
Dang it.
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He and General Kelly hopefully will land in a seven figure board of directors job at an ABC company.
 
I think sometimes people under estimate the amount of politics it takes to be a cabinet member. Strong military generals are sometimes black or white type mentality, there is no grey. They have a mission, a job , and an end goal and that is what they want to accomplish. I personally think the political aspect of dealing with things in Washington got to both Kelly and Mattis.
 
Sounds like he could not, in good faith, keep trying to work with an administration that alienates our allies and cozies up to, and emboldens our enemies.
Looked pretty clear that that was the case he made in his resignation letter?
 
Air Force7 said:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cn...retary-of-defense-in-february-trump-says.html

They say it is because he disagrees with President Trump’s decision to pull troops out of Syria.
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Not just the withdrawal of troops, but the betrayal of the Kurdish militias who've largely served as the foot soldiers in the war against ISIS, supported by US air and artillery support and intelligence - which will all be gone in 30 days.

And Trump's continued ignoring of his intelligence and military advice (including Mattis' on repeated occasions). Trump wants a great big shiny military for parade purposes only.

The foreign-policy-by-impulsive-tweet, with zero consultation with US allies (the British, French, Germans, Australians, Canadians, all the rest of NATO, US Congress, US DOD, VP Michael Pence, Don Jr., Ivanka, etc. - hell everyone on earth apparently) all found about the withdrawal order via Trump's Twitter account. 48 hours later, there still has been no official informing of US allies. Good luck on any future alliances with the Trump administration. The issue of trust has been abandoned. Even pro-Trump Israel is shaken by this action.

ISIS can now be expected to rebuild and try to retake territory they were kicked out of over the last 4 years. They'll find no US drones in the sky, no US artillery strikes, no US Special Forces opposition, etc. Many of the same Americans who were extreme in their denunciation of Obama for insufficient use of the military to crush ISIS will now look at the ground, shuffle their feet and mumble something about low unemployment rates and tax cuts.

I'm hearing a very small minority of elected GOP leaders offering support of the Syria withdrawal, and a whole lot of them lamenting (but understanding) the resignation of General Mattis.

The Iranians are thrilled. So is Hezbollah. So is the Syrian government. So is, especially, Russia who is filling the vacuum left by the US withdrawal.

Without question, the next Secretary of Defense will be a MAGA-ite figurehead whom will never, ever speak a syllable of dissent to the current Oval Office occupant and lack Mattis' full throated opposition to Russia.
 
Day-Tripper said:
Not just the withdrawal of troops, but the betrayal of the Kurdish militias who've largely served as the foot soldiers in the war against ISIS, supported by US air and artillery support and intelligence - which will all be gone in 30 days.

And Trump's continued ignoring of his intelligence and military advice (including Mattis' on repeated occasions). Trump wants a great big shiny military for parade purposes only.

The foreign-policy-by-impulsive-tweet, with zero consultation with US allies (the British, French, Germans, Australians, Canadians, all the rest of NATO, US Congress, US DOD, VP Michael Pence, Don Jr., Ivanka, etc. - hell everyone on earth apparently) all found about the withdrawal order via Trump's Twitter account. 48 hours later, there still has been no official informing of US allies. Good luck on any future alliances with the Trump administration. The issue of trust has been abandoned. Even pro-Trump Israel is shaken by this action.

ISIS can now be expected to rebuild and try to retake territory they were kicked out of over the last 4 years. They'll find no US drones in the sky, no US artillery strikes, no US Special Forces opposition, etc. Many of the same Americans who were extreme in their denunciation of Obama for insufficient use of the military to crush ISIS will now look at the ground, shuffle their feet and mumble something about low unemployment rates and tax cuts.

I'm hearing a very small minority of elected GOP leaders offering support of the Syria withdrawal, and a whole lot of them lamenting (but understanding) the resignation of General Mattis.

The Iranians are thrilled. So is Hezbollah. So is the Syrian government. So is, especially, Russia who is filling the vacuum left by the US withdrawal.

Without question, the next Secretary of Defense will be a MAGA-ite figurehead whom will never, ever speak a syllable of dissent to the current Oval Office occupant and lack Mattis' full throated opposition to Russia.
Click to expand...

If he can, and does, make military decisions like this without, and in spite, of his closest, most experienced military advisors, it makes you kind of scared that he is the one with the football huh?
 
BoCoMoRex said:
Day-Tripper said:
Not just the withdrawal of troops, but the betrayal of the Kurdish militias who've largely served as the foot soldiers in the war against ISIS, supported by US air and artillery support and intelligence - which will all be gone in 30 days.

And Trump's continued ignoring of his intelligence and military advice (including Mattis' on repeated occasions). Trump wants a great big shiny military for parade purposes only.

The foreign-policy-by-impulsive-tweet, with zero consultation with US allies (the British, French, Germans, Australians, Canadians, all the rest of NATO, US Congress, US DOD, VP Michael Pence, Don Jr., Ivanka, etc. - hell everyone on earth apparently) all found about the withdrawal order via Trump's Twitter account. 48 hours later, there still has been no official informing of US allies. Good luck on any future alliances with the Trump administration. The issue of trust has been abandoned. Even pro-Trump Israel is shaken by this action.

ISIS can now be expected to rebuild and try to retake territory they were kicked out of over the last 4 years. They'll find no US drones in the sky, no US artillery strikes, no US Special Forces opposition, etc. Many of the same Americans who were extreme in their denunciation of Obama for insufficient use of the military to crush ISIS will now look at the ground, shuffle their feet and mumble something about low unemployment rates and tax cuts.

I'm hearing a very small minority of elected GOP leaders offering support of the Syria withdrawal, and a whole lot of them lamenting (but understanding) the resignation of General Mattis.

The Iranians are thrilled. So is Hezbollah. So is the Syrian government. So is, especially, Russia who is filling the vacuum left by the US withdrawal.

Without question, the next Secretary of Defense will be a MAGA-ite figurehead whom will never, ever speak a syllable of dissent to the current Oval Office occupant and lack Mattis' full throated opposition to Russia.
Click to expand...

If he can, and does, make military decisions like this without, and in spite, of his closest, most experienced military advisors, it makes you kind of scared that he is the one with the football huh?
Click to expand...
 
The greatest fear many have voiced is that Trump would be reckless in using the US military, i.e. the madman-with-the-football sort of thing.

I think Trump is showing that the opposite may be true. He's such an isolationist that there appears very little he would fight for. Certainly not to defend democracy. Certainly not to defend allies, whom he has shown nothing but ugly disdain for.

Use of the military seems to be just another "expense" where the US gets "ripped off" to this faux businessman-turned-statesman.

I doubt the Russians, Chinese, Iranians, North Koreans, ISIS, Al Queda, etc. fear President Trump at all.
 
Last time I checked it was "President Trump", whether we like it or not he was elected to and still holds the office.. And I believe due to his inconsistent and impulsive actions they all fear him.
 
Day-Tripper said:
The greatest fear many have voiced is that Trump would be reckless in using the US military, i.e. the madman-with-the-football sort of thing.

I think Trump is showing that the opposite may be true. He's such an isolationist that there appears very little he would fight for. Certainly not to defend democracy. Certainly not to defend allies, whom he has shown nothing but ugly disdain for.

Use of the military seems to be just another "expense" where the US gets "ripped off" to this faux businessman-turned-statesman.

I doubt the Russians, Chinese, Iranians, North Koreans, ISIS, Al Queda, etc. fear President Trump at all.
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Well said.
 
Parent of 4 said:
Last time I checked it was "President Trump", whether we like it or not he was elected to and still holds the office.. And I believe due to his inconsistent and impulsive actions they all fear him.
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Being inconsistent and impulsive and not positive traits. I hope you agree.
 
My point was no matter which side of the political fence you are he is still President Trump and he scares the hell out of all of us.

And no, being inconsistent and impulsive are most definitely not positive traits..
 
Day-Tripper said:
Parent of 4 said:
Last time I checked it was "President Trump", whether we like it or not he was elected to and still holds the office.. And I believe due to his inconsistent and impulsive actions they all fear him.
Click to expand...

Being inconsistent and impulsive and not positive traits. I hope you agree.
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We don't know that his decision is impulsive. We DO know it's not the course of action others recommended but that doesn't make it impulsive. He may very well have put a lot of thought into this. It seems to me he is actually being consistent with several statements he's made in the past about leaving Syria and Afghanistan. I would even say this consistency indicates the decision was NOT impulsive.

On the surface I don't think I like these decisions, but I'm willing to give it a little time to play out. I'm certainly not going to jump to the conclusion that all is lost.
 
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