The more you read Mattis’s resignation letter, ....

[Gaugingcatenate]

It is the long standing doctrine of the officer corps of the armed forces that the United States needs allies and must have allies. This has been true since the beginning of World War II. It became bedrock doctrine 1945-1955 when the Cold War began. The foundation of US military doctrine at Pentagon is allies. <snip for reasons of space>

... Trump is the first president to listen to tyrant leader enemies of the United States and to follow their wishes. This is true of Russia in particular but we see it with North Korea also which has reconnected to Beijing. Trump does this while he ignores or drives out advice to the contrary provided by members of his administration and allies alike. The consequence of the pullout from Syria, a plan to do same in Afghanistan, the resignation of Mattis -- on top of all else to date -- is that Potus Trump is now judged to be unfit to hold the office.

This is unacceptable to the national security and global stability so it is rejected in the absolute by USA armed forces commanders. <snip>

Recall the armed forces oath is to the Constitution not to any official or person, which is the way George Washington successfully presented it to the Constitutional Convention.

First of all, I asked for sources on all your other blatherings, misstatements and potential serious major prevarications.

You are aware of the difference between sources and, instead, your further unsourced bloviations on the subject... right?

World War II was over three-quarters of a century ago, the landscape can and has changed significantly from the early days of pulling out of our self imposed isolationism, defeating several rivals and up until now taking on, pretty much single-handedly since the end of WWII, the enemies of the world.

By the way, the Cold War is over.

Our allies have basically been in name only. They often vote against us, make their own open and covert deals with our enemies, do not hold up their end of the defense bargain... the overwhelming majority of which do not even ante up their agreed upon meager defense budgets.

We all know this, it's not classified.

Besides which, we have allies, so what the hell are you going on about?

I don't know if you are aware, but in our system it's the civilian elected government officials that make our policies, not our military commanders. That is following the Constitution which all our military is sworn to defend.

Where has Trump followed the wishes of Putin or Xi? Because he does not follow the advice of Mattis he is unfit? Are you kidding me? By what standard has that ever been the measure in US history? I will give you a clue, it has NEVER been the standard.

And sorry, while I respect the right of others, even progressives, to offer such offensive, basically traitorous opinions [ leading to what, a coup in the offing by the military?]... we watched on this side in absolute horror for 8 long years as slenderfella hollowed out and started radically social engineering our military, spit on him as he weeded out many of the better and experienced middle and upper command positions to the point where we were just exactly the paper tiger all thought we were.

We have lost much blood and treasure in Afghanistan... and in Syria our guys, so few of them, are left dangling out there, are unable to do much but be fodder for those who may want to create something similar to a Beirut Barracks bombing incident in '83.

If ISIS types become a problem again, we will surgically go back in. However, I do believe we should wholeheartedly support our allies the Kurds, giving them protection from destruction, supplying their needs as we see fit going forward.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opin...hat-he-should-do-next/?utm_term=.38f73692f10c

It truly is incumbent upon you to read the constitution, figure out the true chain of command. You might also want to review since you bring him into the conversation, George Washington's farewell speech, far after his presentation to the Constitutional Convention, in which he warned us against foreign entanglements.

A partial of that speech: “It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world; so far, I mean, as we are now at liberty to do it; for let me not be understood as capable of patronizing infidelity to existing engagements. I hold the maxim no less applicable to public than to private affairs, that honesty is always the best policy. I repeat it, therefore, let those engagements be observed in their genuine sense. But, in my opinion, it is unnecessary and would be unwise to extend them. “

Yano?

 

[Gaugingcatenate]

Whenever I ponder why I like to hang out on political forums, posts like these remind me.

Entertainment!

Thanks for the laugh.

Quit wasting all our time, how about it? Flush, please, before you hit enter.

 

[JackA]

The message finally penetrated Trump’s thick head. He just ordered Mattis out by end of the year.

 

[Amelia]

And the pivot is complete ... Trump's switch from praising Mattis to figuring out what Mattis' resignation letter actually said to finally reaching reaching his natural state of anger at being criticized .... and he has now sent Mattis packing and replaced him with an acting secretary.


THAT is Trump. The only odd thing was how long it took Trump to figure out what Mattis actually said and then to react to it with his normal Trumpian temper. It took almost three days.

 

[jnug]

The message finally penetrated Trump’s thick head. He just ordered Mattis out by end of the year.

Two elements at play here. There is a better than even chance that Trump did not read it or worse did not even understand it.

More likely somebody clued Trump in that the NATO summit is Feb 11 and 12 and Mattis was trying to make the NATO Summit his last ditch effort at protecting the country.

Can you just see that discussion with an aide.
"You know Mr President, Mattis is trying to stay aboard for the NATO summit"

"What NATO summit"

"You know sir, the NATO Summit"

"No I don't know. What the frig are you talking about?"

"Sir, the NATO summit is Feb 11 and 12"

"Well the heck with it. I'll show him. I will just leave NATO before Feb 11. That should do it."

"Sigh.......Sir, I don't think that is how you want to deal with this. If you don't want Mattis to go, you can remove him before the summit. You already have an Acting AG and an Acting COS, and an Acting EPA head. Whats one more Acting more or less."

"Yea...that is what i was thinking all along. How did you guess?"

"Sigh"

 

[lurchadams]

"The more you read Mattis’s resignation letter, the clearer it becomes that Trump had not read it before he sent his tweet."

A tweet by Kaitlan Collins.



No, I don't know who she is, but yes, I was kind of surprised that Trump had such kind words for Mattis in spite of Mattis' damning resignation letter.

Either Trump didn't read it or he didn't understand it.



I'm waiting for some delayed reaction tweets from Trump where he walks back his praise of Mattis and gets closer to calling Mattis dumb as a rock.

It's the second thing. He doesn't understand it. trump doesn't understand foreign policy. All he knows is "counter punching" and "fighting back". Doesn't work that well when you're trying to maintain peace worldwide.

 

[lurchadams]

Trump is known as not a reader and gets his news from sound bites. He sits in front of the tv and lets the Hanitys and Limbaugh give him his daily reports.

When they finally get him out of the WH it will be interesting to hear from the WH staff..

Remember the Woodward book, "Fear"? We're already hearing from them!

 

[Tangmo]

Admiral James Stavridis (Ret.) was the 16th Supreme Allied Commander at NATO and is Dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, Boston...


My Friend Jim Mattis Is Gone From the Pentagon, and the U.S. Is One Step Closer to Chaos

Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) Admiral James Stavridis makes a speech at the departure ceremony for OTAN Rapid Deployable Corps - Italy bound for Afghanistan at Ugo Mara Barracks in Solbiate Olona, Italy, on Jan. 10, 2013. Pier Marco Tacca—Getty Images


"It was not just President Trump’s decision to withdraw from Syria, a foolish choice probably launched to change the daily media cycle. This was only the latest in a cascade of questionable events that had the Secretary of Defense doing little but playing defense in the domestic realm, trying to explain his capricious Commander-in-Chief’s uninformed comments and bad decisions.

"The string is long and undistinguished: the denigration of NATO, an institution Mattis correctly reveres; Trump’s response to the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville as Mattis led the most racially integrated organization in government; the fictitious migrant caravan “invasion” and the deployment of nearly 6,000 troops to string barb wire over Thanksgiving and Christmas; the major drawdown of U.S. forces from Afghanistan; the support to an implacable foe of the United States, Vladimir Putin, at a shameful press conference in Helsinki; and the seemingly endless stories of moral failure from the Commander-in-Chief himself.

"All of it eventually stripped the insulation from Mattis’ wires. By staying on in Trump’s cabinet and facing policy choices he could not support pragmatically or philosophically, he knew he would complete his journey from a guard rail to an enabler."

Why Mattis''' Resignation Brings America Ever Closer to Chaos | Time





There's more from others....

The Wall Street Journal reported a Pentagon official saying, “We are on the edge,” “Lawmakers and Pentagon officials said tonight that they were shaken by Mattis‘s departure and what it could mean for the U.S. military and the nation’s national-security strategy. “We are on the edge,” one Pentagon official said. “This is unbelievable.”

The Washington Post reported a former senior administration official saying, “”There’s going to be an intervention. Jim Mattis just sent a shot across the bow. He’s the most credible member of the administration by five grades of magnitude. He’s the steady, safe set of hands. And this letter is brutal.He quit because of the madness”

Mattis’s exit may augur a fundamental change in the way adversaries and allies approach the administration, a trend that’s already visible with North Korea. Kim Jong Un’s regime has all but shut out Pompeo and his chief envoy, Steve Biegun, instead looking to deal with the president himself, knowing he is the ultimate authority.

“Trump’s abrupt decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria without consulting his national security team will reinforce North Korea’s inclination to only deal with Trump,” Suzanne DiMaggio, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment, wrote in a tweet. “Trump has set up a dangerous dynamic that undercuts attempts to conduct real diplomacy.”

https://johnib.wordpress.com/2018/12/21/mattiss-exit-could-unleash-trump-america-first-doctrine

/

Former AFP White House reporter Andrew Beatty wrote that nearly anywhere else Trump would forced out of office by a military coup, “Syria withdrawal, Afghanistan draw down, Mattis gone, govt shutdown looming, President making decisions on the fly. Almost any other place in the world the guys in camouflage would be at the TV station by now.”

Conservative commentator Erick Erickson passive/aggressively called for a coup, “If we lived in a lesser country than our great nation, today is the day we really would be talking about a military coup. Soldiers down to the enlisted ranks are raising hell about the President’s Syria decision.”

The Washington Post’s Jennifer Rubin called for Trump to be impeached and removed from office, “it is time for Senate Republicans to seriously consider removing Trump in the event the House moves to impeach. Trump is a menace to our democracy and national security

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/20...k-of-impeaching-pres-trump-coups-and-suicide/

 

[Airyaman]

Quit wasting all our time, how about it? Flush, please, before you hit enter.

I told you that you made me laugh. Is that really a waste of time? You're a comedian without even trying to be, you should take pride in that.

 

[Unitedwestand13]

It's the second thing. He doesn't understand it. trump doesn't understand foreign policy. All he knows is "counter punching" and "fighting back". Doesn't work that well when you're trying to maintain peace worldwide.

Trump is trying to beat a wall at shadow boxing.

 

[Gaugingcatenate]

I told you that you made me laugh. Is that really a waste of time? You're a comedian without even trying to be, you should take pride in that.

Here, let me help since you seem to have such difficulties with such simple tasks...

FFFFLLLLLLLLLLLUUUUUUUUUUUSSSSSSSSSHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhh

 

[Airyaman]

Here, let me help since you seem to have such difficulties with such simple tasks...

FFFFLLLLLLLLLLLUUUUUUUUUUUSSSSSSSSSHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhh

Now you're no longer funny, just boring. I'll come back when you say something funny again.