I see this appointment as a real improvement. Now instead of having to go through some retired generals, Boeing has one of its execs directly in charge of the DOD. That will greatly increase the efficiency with which tax dollars are recycled to defense contractors. I hope all the republican defense hawks feel bad about criticizing Trump for shitcanning Mattis now.
Sounds better than a general. Run the military like a business, casualties as part of the bottom line.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/23/us/politics/trump-mattis.html Trump, Angry Over Mattis’s Rebuke, Removes Him 2 Months Early WASHINGTON — Less than two hours after Defense Secretary Jim Mattis went to the White House on Thursday to hand a resignation letter to President Trump, the president stood in the Oval Office and dictated a glowing tweet announcing that Mr. Mattis was retiring “with distinction” at the end of February. But Mr. Trump had not read the letter. As became apparent to the president only after days of news coverage, a senior administration official said, Mr. Mattis had issued a stinging rebuke of Mr. Trump over his neglect of allies and tolerance of authoritarians. The president grew increasingly angry as he watched a parade of defense analysts go on television to extol Mr. Mattis’s bravery, another aide said, until he decided on Sunday that he had had enough.
Trump may or may not be angry, but replacing Mattis quickly is a good business move. I recall resigning from a position years ago in a similar situation. I was not at all happy with new management policies and procedures being implemented and decided it best to resign, giving them a month notice to find a replacement. My employment was terminated the very next day. Looking back it was a good business decision on their part. You don't want someone on your team who is so adamantly opposed to the direction the company is taking. I fully support Mattis making his decision. If you ain't on board, stand up, be a professional and leave. I wish more of these people would do the same thing instead of just hanging around to collect a check, or worse, to do damage. It's small and petty to do so, but small and petty is what politics is all about.
I hear that Trump likes to fire people. I always told my subordinate managers that a good manger needs to be able to terminate people, but it should never be something you like or enjoy. Typically it means your interviewing skills are lacking, and/or you're failing to provide the proper leadership to correct problems before they become issues which reqire termination.
Trump appointed a bunch of people who seem to have been confused over who was president and who was there to implement his policies. Pulling 2000 troops out of Syria is not a big deal. The excuses for remaining in Afghanistan after 17 years of failure are getting pretty ridiculous as well. I find it hard to understand how you can take a job knowing what your president ran on, then resign because you personally disagree with it. I see Mattis as a disloyal grandstander who was looking for a chance to virtue signal by stabbing Trump in the back. Good riddance. Trump should be very wary of appointing any generals who rose to prominence under Obama, a period where adherence to leftist politics was more important than military competency.
I'm not the most well-versed in these things, but aren't the Kurds gonna be looking at a mass slaughter? They fought next to us, for years. In Iraq too. All they want is a homeland. Are we not totally stabbing them in the back? Again.... I am not an expert in any way, its just what I've read on both right and left news outlets.
I don't know if you were in the camp, but it's safe to say that the overwhelming majority of Trump supporters will thrilled to death with the appointment of Mad Dog Mattis. Now he's a bum? Trump may be the president and yes, he has the right to implement his policies, but he also has an obligation to listen to the people he has asked to assist him in making those decisions. It's becoming more apparent he only wants boot licking yes men. Mattis ain't that guy. Time will tell if the 2000 troops made/make a difference in the region. It's a high stakes move and if it blows up, it's all on Trump, as is most of the rest of what we have coming down the pipe from this point forward, stock market and economy included. The guy needs to get off twitter and come to realize that while he can't really help the market, he damn sure can hurt it. 2019 will find me with a much more critical eye on how he handles these situations. I don't think I'll be alone. It's all been fun and games watching him poke the left. That's run it's course. He's had plenty of time to grow into the position. Yeah, it's an uphill battle and he has many enemies and obstacles. So did Obama, so did Bush, so did they all. Comes with the job. He wanted it, he's got it, the whole enchilada. Now we'll see what he's got.