When President Obama ingloriously fired Jim Mattis, I gave him a second chance. Some thought I shouldn’t, I thought I should. 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.— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 23, 2018
Politico: Trump: I gave Mattis 'second chance'
President Donald Trump claimed Saturday he gave outgoing Defense Secretary James Mattis “a second chance” after the retired Marine general was ousted from military leadership under the Obama administration.
“When President Obama ingloriously fired Jim Mattis, I gave him a second chance. Some thought I shouldn’t, I thought I should,” Trump tweeted Saturday evening.
Former President Barack Obama fired Mattis as head of U.S. Central Command in 2013 in large part because of Mattis’ increasingly hawkish posture toward Iran.
Mattis resigned from the Trump Cabinet on Thursday in protest of Trump’s abrupt plan to withdraw all U.S. forces from Syria.
Read more ....
WNU editor: The debate on who will replace Defense Secretary Mattis is starting ....
Who might replace Mattis? -- Connor O'Brien and David Brown (Politico)
Trump's frontrunners for Pentagon job likely to share Mattis' views on Syria, Afghanistan -- Lukas Mikelionis, FOX News
Who will Trump tap to replace Mattis? ( Leo Shane III , Aaron Mehta , and David B. Larter, Military Times)
Trump's troop withdrawals making it harder to find a Mattis replacement (Jamie McIntyre, Washington Examiner)
Mattis’ replacement faces tightrope walk between Capitol Hill, Trump (Claudia Grisales and Caitlin Kenny, Stars and Stripes)
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Hagel Takes a Bullet for Obama: Inside the Defense Secretary’s Sudden Firing
https://www.thedailybeast.com/hagel-takes-a-bullet-for-obama-inside-the-defense-secretarys-sudden-firing
The part about allies taking advantage us especially true. I've recognized this problem for decades. It's nice to have a CIC who gets this.
The current network of "alliances" we have seem to me to be more like a network of parasitic relationships whereby the "allies" suck the American host dry.
From the tone of his resignation letter, it seems general Mattis would agree that the military is in better shape now than it was when Trump entered office. Once freed of dome the weight of some of these encumbering "alliances" I think the military and the country will be in an even better position.
Da Comrade!
Trump is acting like a true CEO (or CIC), his role is to make decisions based on the actions values. I trust him make this decision as he has consistently sought to make the best decision for the US. It's not always aligned with our allies, and I agree our allies take us for granted. MAGA!
Da comrade! What you appear to be suggesting is that anyone who thinks American leaders should work to ensure America is treated equitably by its allies is a "comrade." The argument for continuing the previous course that was failing cannot be supported by anything rational. Therefore you insult me. Its the only thing you can do. Now as I've said before if you have anything constructive to add here please do so. Otherwise don't waste time.
Michael,
You are essentially spot on. There's little I could add.
In seeking to make decisions that best represent our interests, what we choose won't always align perfectly with that of allies. When this happens, one of gwo things can be done. 1.)Ruthlessly represent your interests regardless what the ally thinks. 2.)Seek a compromise with the ally that is workable to each of us. Option 1 would typically not be used. If our interests are badly misaligned, we shouldn't be allies anyway!!
Unfortunately to often these "allies" are often unwilling to engage in the kind of give and take that that allow for constructive relations among equals. When confronted with this, US officials have often sacrificed our own interests in order to try and placate these "allies."
You are correct when you point out they often take us for granted. I liken it to a baf marriage we've been in for a long time. America is finally starting to insist on being respected. We must remember often times when the abuser is confronted and xtood up to they become violent. To this end, French leaders have threatened us and prominent EU leaders have labeled us an enemy.
All this for insisting that our interests be respected and for putting our country first. All other nations do this. Under Trump America is beginning to behave like a normal nation.
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