Mattis on Leaving Trump

Reviews
Defense Secretary James Mattis has decided to leave his office much earlier than expected. It seems like he finally snapped and has had enough of the Trump administration. NBC appears to show this well and is very informing about what had happened so far. Although they do lean left, and it comes through by the end. As is usual, Trump gets in a few hits, but NBC doesn't give him any backup besides himself. They offer "definite proof" in the form of Pat Toomey, who is Republican and seems very scared of Trump as he is explained in the article. NBC shows him as a quickly triggered character which is up to interpretation.
Common Facts
Content (3)
NBC New.
CNN
Was. Tim.
For.
"Former Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis said he respects a 'duty of silence' after leaving President Trump’s administration."
Mattis is also a retired four-star general.
"Mr. Mattis submitted his resignation in December after disagreeing with Mr. Trump’s decision to pull troops from Syria"
Review Info (3)
First Published: 09/03/2019 12:15:58 am
Last Updated: 11/30/-0001 12:00:00 am
Original Front Page Link
NBC News
Content (4)
"President Donald Trump announced in a Sunday tweet (12/23/18) that Defense Secretary James Mattis will leave his position on Jan. 1, two months earlier than Mattis's announced departure date in his resignation letter last week."
"Trump said Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, a former Boeing executive, will take over as acting Defense Secretary."
"Mattis led U.S. Central Command from 2010 to 2013, but his time at the helm was cut short because of disagreements with the Obama administration on Iran."
"Soon after Trump announced plans to remove troops from Syria, the president ordered the withdrawal of 7,000 troops from Afghanistan."
Opinion (14)
"The letter was sharply critical of Trump, which may have led to his expedited exit."
"Patrick has a long list of accomplishments while serving as Deputy, & previously Boeing," Trump tweeted. "He will be great!"
"The New York Times reported that Trump, angry with coverage of Mattis' resignation, sought to expedite his departure. "
"Trump administration aides told The Times that Trump became increasingly furious in the days following Mattis' strongly worded resignation letter. The Times reporting added that the president initially 'did not understand just how forceful a rejection of his strategy Mr. Mattis had issued.'"
"After initially praising Mattis in announcing his resignation last week (12/16/18), Trump jabbed his top military official on Saturday (12/22/18)."
"Some thought I shouldn’t, I thought I should," Trump wrote on possibly firing Mattis. "Interesting relationship — but I also gave all of the resources that he never really had. Allies are very important — but not when they take advantage of U.S."
"That comment appeared to refer to one of the most-discussed lines of Mattis' resignation letter — one in which he suggested that that his views on how to treat America's allies differed from Trump's."
"My views on treating allies with respect and also being clear-eyed about both malign actors and strategic competitors are strongly held and informed by over four decades of immersion in these issues," Mattis wrote.
"Because you have the right to have a Secretary of Defense whose views are better aligned with yours on these and other subjects, I believe it is right for me to step down from my position," he continued, adding that his last day in office would be Feb. 28. 2019
"Many Republicans and Democrats have expressed worry about Mattis' departure. On NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday, Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania said he was disturbed by how Mattis described Trump's worldview."
“I think Gen. Mattis has put his finger on where the president has views that are very, very distinct from the vast majority of Republicans and, probably, Democrats, elected and unelected," Toomey said. "And I think the president does not share, I would say, my view that the Pax Americana of the post-war era has been enormously good for America.”
"In confirming a replacement for Mattis, Toomey said he is 'going to be looking for' someone who 'shares a more traditional view about America's role in the world.'"
"Trump tweeted that he gave the retired four-star general 'a second chance' after former President Barack Obama 'ingloriously fired' him."
Mattis also said, "We must do everything possible to advance an international order that is most conducive to our security, prosperity and values, and we are strengthened in this effort by the solidarity of our alliances."
Article Info (4)
Date Published: 11/30/-0001 12:00:00 am
Date Accessed: 11/30/-0001 12:00:00 am
Article Author: Allan Smith
Click here to see the article
CNN
Content (1)
Mattis has a new book.
Opinion (17)
"Former Secretary of Defense James Mattis in an interview released Thursday defended his resignation from the Trump administration last year as well as his decision not to criticize the sitting president outwardly."
"I had no choice but to leave," Mattis told The Atlantic in the interview. "That's why (my resignation) letter is in the book. I want people to understand why I couldn't stay."
"Mattis cited irreconcilable policy differences in a letter to Trump that took many in Washington by surprise. His latest interview follows a string of public statements Mattis has made implicitly criticizing his former commander in chief, with whom he sharply disagreed on matters of international engagement and alliances."
Mattis said "I've been informed by four decades of experience, and I just couldn't connect the dots anymore,"
"In this most recent interview, Mattis declined to directly address the character of Trump — with whom he had an openly rocky relationship marked by presidential Twitter insults — citing a 'duty of silence' he owed the administration."
"If you leave an administration, you owe some silence," Mattis said. "When you leave an administration over clear policy differences, you need to give the people who are still there as many opportunities as possible to defend the country."
"I may not like a commander in chief one fricking bit, but our system puts the commander in chief there, and to further weaken him when we're up against real threats—I mean, we could be at war on the Korean Peninsula, every time they start launching something," Mattis said.
"When pressed on Trump's tweet expressing calm over North Korea firing 'off some small weapons' — a view at odds with his national security adviser John Bolton and then-host Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe — and belittling former Vice President Joe Biden, Mattis cited his experience as a retired Marine Corps general."
"Any Marine general or any other senior servant of the people of the United States would find that, to use a mild euphemism, counterproductive and beneath the dignity of the presidency," he said.
Mattis went on to say, "Let me put it this way. I've written an entire book built on the principles of respecting your troops, respecting each other, respecting your allies. Isn't it pretty obvious how I would feel about something like that?"
"There is a period in which I owe my silence," he said. "It's not eternal. It's not going to be forever."
"Mattis has recently addressed policy matters as they relate to Trump, namely in his forthcoming book, 'Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead.' "
"Since taking office, Trump, a frequent NATO skeptic, has been sharply critical of some members of the alliance, and notably broke with members of the G7 over the weekend in pushing for Russia to rejoin the group."
"In an essay adapted from the book that was published in The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, Mattis rejected Trump's preference for American isolationism, writing in a new essay that the US is "at increasing risk in the world" when it doesn't embrace its allies."
"Although Mattis doesn't mention Trump by name, it's clear he's referring to the commander in chief, making the essay another public criticism of the President over what Mattis sees as the importance of maintaining US alliances and engagement around the world. Mattis' views were shared after he left the administration."
Mattis wrote, "A polemicist's role is not sufficient for a leader. A leader must display strategic acumen that incorporates respect for those nations that have stood with us when trouble loomed."
Matis continued, "Returning to a strategic stance that includes the interests of as many nations as we can make common cause with, we can better deal with this imperfect world we occupy together. Absent this; we will occupy an increasingly lonely position, one that puts us at increasing risk in the world,"
Article Info (4)
Date Published: 11/30/-0001 12:00:00 am
Date Accessed: 11/30/-0001 12:00:00 am
Article Author: Caroline Kelly
Click here to see the article
Washington Times
Opinion (6)
"He warned Mr. Trump that he won’t stay quiet forever, The Atlantic reported on Thursday."
“If you leave an administration, you owe some silence. When you leave an administration over clear policy differences, you need to give the people who are still there as many opportunities as possible to defend the country,” he said.
Mattis said, “We have to give the people who are protecting us some time to carry out their duties without me adding my criticism to the cacophony that is right now so poisonous.”
"While the former U.S. Marine Corps general said it’s inappropriate to 'endanger the country by attacking the elected commander in chief,' Mr. Mattis said he might not keep that duty of silence forever."
“There is a period in which I owe my silence. It’s not eternal. It’s not going to be forever,” Mattis said.
"Mr. Mattis spoke out this week for the first time since he left the Department of Defense, using excerpts from his new book 'Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead' to pen an essay in The Wall Street Journal Wednesday, saying he 'did as well as I could for as long as I could.' "
Article Info (4)
Date Published: 11/30/-0001 12:00:00 am
Date Accessed: 11/30/-0001 12:00:00 am
Article Author: Bailey Vogt
Click here to see the article
Forbes
Content (1)
Lawler is president of RL Leaders, a strategy consultancy.
Opinion (15)
"The good news is that former Secretary of Defense James Mattis has written a book on leadership, Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead."
"Co-authored with another retired officer Bing West, the book is a reflection on leadership from one who wore the uniform of a Marine and achieved its highest rank."
"Given Mattis experience as a combat commander as well as a bibliophile with a personal library of some 7,000 books, Call Sign Chaos holds great promise. "
"So “bad news"? Some observers want him to weigh in on his experience as President Donald Trump's defense secretary." But he won't respond.
"Other than in passing, President Trump is absent. Trump supporters, of course, will not mind. Trump critics will not be satisfied. They want to know the answer to the question that Jeffrey Goldberg posed in his interview with Mattis for The Atlantic—' Donald Trump fit for command?' "
"When Goldberg, who has known Mattis for years, pressed him about 'a duty to warn the country if it is endangered by its leader?' Mattis replied, 'I didn’t cook up a convenient tradition here. You don’t endanger the country by attacking the elected commander in chief.' "
Mattis added, “I may not like a commander in chief one fricking bit, but our system puts the commander in chief there, and to further weaken him when we’re up against real threats—I mean, we could be at war on the Korean peninsula, every time they start launching something.”
"For perspective, I checked in with a colleague, Brian Layer, a retired U.S. Army brigadier general. 'The American people see general and flag officers differently. When they are introduced as general or admiral, they may as well be wearing a uniform, their fellow citizens see them differently and many believe they have special insight so when they speak, their opinions carry extra weight.' He said. "
"Layer adds, 'If former generals become viewed as a bunch of political hacks it won't be long before the active generals are perceived the same way and their advice is discounted because of it. Then the system just breaks down.' "
Layer added that politicians need to do their part in keeping civilian and military practices distinct by casting them in partisan roles. “Our nation's military belongs to the people and keeping its professional ethic strong is in the interest of all of us.”
"Mattis ends his book with his resignation letter to Trump. Consider it a coda to his thoughts on leadership. And as Mattis said to Goldberg, 'I had no choice but to leave. That’s why the letter is in the book. I want people to understand why I couldn’t stay. I’ve been informed by four decades of experience, and I just couldn’t connect the dots anymore.'"
"In a subsequent interview, Mattis told Goldberg, 'There is a period in which I owe my silence. It’s not eternal. It’s not going to be forever.' "
"As Goldberg explained in his own interview on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, the leadership tome that Mattis has penned is filled with the challenges leaders face and behaviors they should exhibit. Mattis extols praiseworthy leadership behaviors that stand in contrast to the transactional practices the President exhibits. As such, they serve as a kind of commentary by comparison."
"Officers at every level are encouraged to speak out when they learn of conduct unbecoming of men and women in uniform. This includes speaking truth to power even to superior officers. Mattis knows this code well and likely will share further thoughts on Trump. The question is when."
Mattis explains, "If you leave an administration, you owe some silence. When you leave an administration over clear policy differences, you need to give the people who are still there as much opportunity as possible to defend the country."
Article Info (4)
Date Published: 11/30/-0001 12:00:00 am
Date Accessed: 11/30/-0001 12:00:00 am
Article Author: John Baldoni
Click here to see the article