It turns out that Trump really does believe he knows more than the generals
by digby
Secretary of Defense Mattis resigned this afternoon over this impulsive Syria withdrawal because of the outrageous process by which Trump made the decision to withdraw troops in Syria and Afghanistan and the inevitable abandonment of the Kurdish and (reportedly) Afghan allies.
His letter of resignation is bracing. It’s clear that this is really about a rogue president whose erratic behavior is now so out of control that he cannot in good conscience enable it — and he cannot stop it.
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.
One core belief I have always held is that our strength as a nation is inextricably linked to the strength of our unique and comprehensive system of alliances and partnerships. While the US remains the indispensable nation in the free world, we cannot protect our interests or serve that role effectively without maintaining strong alliances and showing respect to those allies. Like you, I have said from the beginning that the armed forces of the United States should not be the policeman of the world. Instead, we must use all tools of American power to provide for the common defense, including providing effective leadership to our alliances. NATO’s 29 democracies demonstrated that strength in their commitment to fighting alongside us following the 9-11 attack on America. The Defeat-ISIS coalition of 74 nations is further proof.
Similarly, I believe we must be resolute and unambiguous in our approach to those countries whose strategic interests are increasingly in tension with ours. It is clear that China and Russia, for example, want to shape a world consistent with their authoritarian model – gaining veto authority over other nations’ economic, diplomatic, and security decisions – to promote their own interests at the expense of their neighbors, America and our allies. That is why we must use all the tools of American power to provide for the common defense.
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. 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.
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. The end date for my tenure is February 28, 2019, a date that should allow sufficient time for a successor to be nominated and confirmed as well as to make sure the Department’s interests are properly articulated and protected at upcoming events to include Congressional posture hearings and the NATO Defense Ministerial meeting in February. Further, that a full transition to a new Secretary of Defense occurs well in advance of the transition of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in September in order to ensure stability Within the Department.
I pledge my full effort to a smooth transition that ensures the needs and interests of the 2.15 million Service Members and 732,079 DoD civilians receive undistracted attention of the Department at all times so that they can fulfill their critical, round-the-clock mission to protect the American people.
I very much appreciate this opportunity to serve the nation and our men and women in uniform.
I think we may have gone to Defcon 1. That is not a boilerplate resignation. He’s saying that Trump blowing up alliances and cozying up to dictators is bad and this latest is the straw that broke the camel’s back. We all know that Trump is unstable and this letter indicates following up on his inane move to send troops to the border, he’s now decided to play out his military fantasies with the military overseas.
These decisions were made against the advice of his entire foreign policy team, including John Bolton.
Is he losing it? Has he decided to just go for it and to hell with everyone? Is someone whispering something in his ear?
We don’t know. What we do know is that he’s starting to make military decisions with huge ramifications, without listening to any of his advisers. He is going with his vaunted “gut” because he thinks it’s smarter than all the brains in the world.
He believes this because he’s gotten away with every fuck-up, con game and catastrophe he’s overseen in his long, disastrous life. He’s now way over his head and the stakes are enormous. The question is — if he’s finally coming to his denouement, will he be taking the country and the world down with him?
If you find what we write here every day to be valuable, I hope you’ll consider putting some change in the Hullabaloo holiday stocking. Your support buys me the time to spend my days wading through the muck of the day’s political stories to bring you highlights and analysis that I hope you will enjoy and find informative.
If you’ve already donated, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. If you haven’t and would like to help support this blog for another year, the paypal buttons are on the sidebar and below as is the snail mail address.
And I wish all of you Very Happy Hollandaise!
cheers — digby
Digby’s Hullabaloo
2801 Ocean Park Blvd.
Box 157
Santa Monica, Ca 90405