Tag: Gen. Mattis

Woodward Book Says Mattis Feared Trump Would Start Nuclear War With North Korea

The coronavirus bombshells in Bob Woodward’s new book, Rage, due out September 15, are so explosive that they have somewhat overshadowed other important parts of the book — for example, the veteran journalist/author’s reporting on President Donald Trump’s foreign policy decisions. And Woodward, according to the Guardian‘s Julian Borger, describes some of the ways in which Sen. Lindsey Graham, former Defense Secretary James Mattis, and others tried to rein Trump in on foreign policy.

Rage is based in part on a series of interviews that Woodward conducted with Trump from December 2019-July 2020. Woodward reports that on February 7, Trump told him that COVID-19 was five times “more deadly” than the flu — although he was publicly claiming, in February, that the novel coronavirus didn’t pose a major threat to the United States. Not surprisingly, Woodward’s damning coronavirus revelations have dominated cable news discussions of Rage. But other parts of Rage are important as well, and Borger notes some of Woodward’s reporting on Trump’s foreign policy decisions.

Four days before the January 3, 2020 drone strike that killed Iranian military Qasem Soleimani, Graham and Trump discussed Iran. Graham, according to Woodward, warned Trump that killing Soleimani would be a “giant step” and told the president, “How about hitting someone a level below Soleimani, which would be much easier for everyone to absorb?” Continue reading.

McRaven backs Mattis, Mullen: Clearing peaceful protesters for a photo op is not ‘morally right’

Retired Adm. William McRaven said there is “nothing morally right” about clearing peaceful protesters amid national unrest following George Floyd’s death in police custody.

“Trust me, every man and woman in uniform recognizes that we are all Americans and that the last thing they want to do as military men and women is to stand in the way of a peaceful protest,” McRaven, who oversaw the Navy SEAL raid that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in 2011, said in an interview with MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Friday.

“You’re not going to use, whether it’s the military, or the National Guard, or law enforcement, to clear peaceful American citizens for the president of the United States to do a photo op,” McRaven said. “There is nothing morally right about that.” Continue reading.

Mattis’s Trump broadside underscores military tensions

The Hill logoFormer Defense Secretary James Mattis’s stunning public criticism of President Trump is underscoring growing fears in the military that the president is compromising the integrity of the U.S. Armed Forces by treating to use them against protesters.

Trump has urged governors to deploy National Guard troops to “dominate the streets” and stop violent demonstrations, saying he would dispatch U.S. military forces to states and cities that do not meet his demands.

On Monday, streets near the White House were forcibly cleared of peaceful protesters by federal law enforcement officers. That night, a National Guard Lakota helicopter flew low over protesters in the city in a show of force previously unthinkable in a U.S. city. Continue reading.

Murkowski, Mattis criticism ratchets up pressure on GOP over Trump

The Hill logoCriticism of President Trump from former Defense Secretary James Mattisand Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is ratcheting up pressure on other Republicans to push back on the president’s handling of nationwide civil unrest.

Mattis, who is as close as anyone to being universally respected on Capitol Hill, called out Trump on Wednesday for what he called the president’s lack of a “mature leadership” and accused him for intentionally trying to divide the nation.

Murkowski said she thought Mattis’s words were “true and honest and necessary and overdue” and suggested that it might embolden other Republicans who privately disagree with the president’s often controversial tone and conduct to speak out. Continue reading.

‘He got nasty’: Former White House chief of staff rips Trump and defends James Mattis

AlterNet logoAfter resigning from his position as secretary of Defense in December 2018, Gen. James Mattis was reluctant to criticize President Donald Trump. But that changed this week during the George Floyd protests when Mattis, in comments published by The Atlantic, called Trump out for being so divisive.

As Mattis’s comments stoke both praise and backlash, former White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly came out on Thursday to defend the former Pentagon chief.

Mattis disagreed with Trump’s threat to use military force during the demonstrations. And he asserted: “Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people — does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us.” Continue reading.

James Mattis Denounces President Trump, Describes Him as a Threat to the Constitution

In an extraordinary condemnation, the former defense secretary backs protesters and says the president is trying to turn Americans against one another.

In an extraordinary condemnation, the former defense secretary backs protesters and says the president is trying to turn Americans against one another.

“I have watched this week’s unfolding events, angry and appalled,” Mattis writes. “The words ‘Equal Justice Under Law’ are carved in the pediment of the United States Supreme Court. This is precisely what protesters are rightly demanding. It is a wholesome and unifying demand—one that all of us should be able to get behind. We must not be distracted by a small number of lawbreakers. The protests are defined by tens of thousands of people of conscience who are insisting that we live up to our values—our values as people and our values as a nation.” He goes on, “We must reject and hold accountable those in office who would make a mockery of our Constitution.”

In his j’accuse, Mattis excoriates the president for setting Americans against one another. Continue reading.

James Mattis condemns Trump as a threat to the Constitution

Axios logoFormer Secretary of Defense James Mattis condemned President Trump for making a “mockery of our Constitution” in a statement to The Atlantic on Wednesday, saying he was “appalled” at the president’s response to mass protests in the wake of George Floyd’s killing.

Why it matters: Trump’s former defense secretary had refrained from publicly criticizing his former boss since resigning in 2018.

Full statement:

“I have watched this week’s unfolding events, angry and appalled. The words “Equal Justice Under Law” are carved in the pediment of the United States Supreme Court. This is precisely what protesters are rightly demanding. It is a wholesome and unifying demand—one that all of us should be able to get behind. We must not be distracted by a small number of lawbreakers. The protests are defined by tens of thousands of people of conscience who are insisting that we live up to our values—our values as people and our values as a nation. Continue reading.

Former Defense Secretary Gen. James Mattis roasts Donald Trump: ‘I earned my spurs on the battlefield’

Former Defense Secretary James Mattis roasted his former boss at the Alfred E. Smith dinner in New York City on Thursday night.

Mattis took the stage at the annual dinner — an opportunity to crack jokes about local and national politics — with an introduction from comic legend Martin Short.

“According to the president he’s the ‘most overrated general,'” Short cracked in his intro. “I think he’s an American hero.” Continue reading.

Mattis says he served ‘as long as I could,’ warns of a leader not committed to working with allies

Washington Post logoFormer defense secretary Jim Mattis, who resigned last year after clashing with President Trump, says in a book excerpt that “I did as well as I could for as long as I could” and warns of the dangers of a leader who is not committed to working with allies.

Mattis, who announced his resignation in December after Trump shocked U.S. allies and overruled his advisers by announcing a troop withdrawal from Syria, writes in his book that he decided to depart “when my concrete solutions and strategic advice, especially keeping faith with our allies, no longer resonated.” The book is due to be published next week by Random House.

In the excerpt, published Wednesday by the Wall Street Journal, Mattis writes about the need for leaders to appreciate the value of allies without explicitly mentioning Trump, who has made a slogan of “America First.”

View the complete August 28 article by John Wagner and Karen DeYoung on The Washington Post website here.

General James Mattis Resignation Letter

Here’s the text of Gen. Mattis’ resignation letter to Donald Trump:

Dear Mr. President:

I have been privileged to serve as our country’s 26th Secretary of Defense which has allowed me to serve alongside our men and women of the Department in defense of our citizens and our ideals.

I am proud of the progress that has been made over the past two years on some of the key goals articulated in our National Defense Strategy: putting the Department on a more sound budgetary footing, improving readiness and lethality in our forces, and reforming the Department’s business practices for greater performance. Our troops continue to provide the capabilities needed to prevail in conflict and sustain strong U.S. global influence. Continue reading “General James Mattis Resignation Letter”