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General Mattis Has Betrayed the Marines and America

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. . .“Mad Dog” may have worn the uniform of a leatherneck for more years than most, but he has betrayed the values of the Corps by his recent statements about the sitting commander-in-chief. He is no longer one of “the Few, the Proud,” having accused President Trump of somehow violating “the Constitutional rights of . . . fellow citizens” by walking to St. John’s Episcopal Church the day after “peaceful” protestors tried to burn the church to the ground. It’s the same church that every incoming president of the United States has stopped to pray in and show his respects on the morning of his inauguration.

Do I have a right to criticize a man like Mattis? A man allegedly called “Mad Dog” and “Chaos” by his peers? No, I never served in the U.S. military. My only military experience is a few years in the British Army reserves. Once I came to America, however, I twice took the oath of service to my new nation. Once when I joined the Defense Department as a civilian, and then again in 2017 when I joined the White House as a strategist to President Trump.

And even if none of that were true, I would still feel a duty publicly to censure Mattis for a personal reason: because of what I learned from the Marines I have worked for and with over the years. Their love of America and their respect for the truth demand that we react to such reprehensible behavior from a retired general officer who knows better. . .

. . .Shouldn’t a general, retired or otherwise, know that a president’s primary responsibility is the security of the citizens of our nation? It is possible that Mattis is unaware of the dozens of times U.S. presidents—Democrat and Republican—have used the military domestically to keep us all safe, from quelling rioters to responding to disasters?

. . .Yes, Mattis is wrong. But more than that, he is a coward. No, not in any sense related to his military service. I have no evidence to the effect that in a firefight with real bullets he wouldn’t acquit himself like a man. No, I am not referring to physical courage, but moral courage. (Read more from “General Mattis Has Betrayed the Marines and America” HERE)

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Mattis to Visit Troops at Border

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Defense Secretary Jim Mattis will travel to the U.S.-Mexico border Wednesday amid continued questions on cost and whether the caravan’s shifting destination may mean changes for the majority of troops now in Texas.

In the last several days, the thousands of men, women and children migrating by foot and truck northward through Mexico have turned toward California instead of Texas. The caravan has reached as far as Guadalajara, Mexico, which is about 1,100 miles from the U.S. border checkpoint between San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico, and about 500 miles from McAllen, Texas, where thousands of U.S. troops have amassed and set up barriers of cement and concertina wire.

Mattis’ trip also comes amid reports from The Washington Post that President Donald Trump was set to remove Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen from the position in favor of someone who will take a harder line on immigration. . .

“We meet daily on this issue and coordinate amongst us. The first thing briefed is ‘what is the threat against the border’ …. right now there’s no change on that mission set,” Mattis said. (Read more from “Mattis to Visit Troops at Border” HERE)

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Mattis Makes Surprise Stop for Talks With New U.S. Commander, Afghan Officials

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U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis arrived in the Afghan capital on Friday in an unannounced visit, amid upheaval in the senior ranks of American and Afghan officials waging the 17-year war against the Taliban and other Islamist militants.

Mr. Mattis, accompanied by Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was to hold meetings with senior Afghan officials and with Army Gen. Austin Miller, the new commander of American-led international forces here, as well as hold a town-hall style forum with troops.

Peace talks with the Taliban, the country’s largest insurgency group, were expected to be high on the agenda of discussions between Mr. Mattis and Afghan officials.

In July, U.S. diplomats and Taliban representatives met in the Gulf state of Qatar to discuss a possible framework for talks aimed at ending the war. However, a series of devastating Taliban attacks last month and the insurgency’s refusal to reciprocate Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s call for a three-month cease-fire have slowed momentum for further discussions.

Still, while the war against the Taliban and Islamic State’s local branch has expanded since President Trump announced his rejuvenated Afghanistan strategy little more than a year ago, Mr. Mattis made clear this week that the prospect of talks with the Taliban hasn’t evaporated. (Read more from “Mattis Makes Surprise Stop for Talks With New U.S. Commander, Afghan Officials” HERE)

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Mattis: US Will Not Accept a Nuclear North Korea

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By Fox News. U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis issued a stern warning to North Korea on Saturday: Despite its ongoing missile and nuclear programs, it is simply no match for the U.S.-South Korea alliance.

“Make no mistake,” Mattis said during a news conference in Seoul, “any attack on the United States or our allies will be defeated, and any use of nuclear weapons by the North will be met with a massive military response that is effective and overwhelming.”

During the joint appearance with South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo, Mattis acknowledged that the threat of a nuclear missile attack by North Korea was accelerating.

The CIA says North Korea could be just months away from being capable of hitting the U.S. with a nuclear strike, Reuters reported.

Mattis accused the regime of Kim Jong Un of illegal and unnecessary missile and nuclear programs — and vowed to defeat any attack. (Read more from “Mattis: US Will Not Accept a Nuclear North Korea” HERE)

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James Mattis: Threat of North Korea Nuclear Attack ‘Is Accelerating’

By Associated Press. US defence secretary Jim Mattis has said the threat of nuclear missile attack by North Korea is accelerating.

In remarks in Seoul with South Korean defence minister Song Young-moo at his side, Mattis accused the North of illegal and unnecessary missile and nuclear programs – and vowed to defeat any attack . . .

As he emphasized throughout his weeklong Asia trip, which included stops in Thailand and the Philippines, Mattis said diplomacy remains the preferred way to deal with the North. (Read more from “James Mattis: Threat of North Korea Nuclear Attack ‘Is Accelerating'” HERE)

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Mattis Shows Himself to be the Compromised Loser He Is: “Appalled” at Trump’s Announcement of Transgender Military Ban

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Defense Secretary James Mattis was caught off guard by President Trump’s announcement that he was banning transgender people from serving in the military, according to a New York Times report.

Mattis, who was on vacation at the time of Trump’s decision, only had one day’s worth of notice before Trump tweeted his announcement of the policy, the paper reported.

The report described him as “appalled.”

Sources close to the Defense secretary told the Times that Mattis was infuriated by the tweets, and saw them as an insult to transgender Americans currently serving in the military . . .

Mattis, according to the Times, had been quietly lobbying Republicans for months to defeat a GOP-led amendment to the 2017 spending bill that would prevent the military from spending money on transition surgery or hormone therapy for transgender service members. The report states that Mattis initially resisted the policy allowing transgender Americans to serve in the armed forces, but accepted that the policy was to remain in place. (Read more from “Mattis Shows Himself to Be the Compromised Loser He Is: “Appalled” at Trump’s Announcement of Transgender Military Ban” HERE)

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Mattis Directly Intervened to Save Transgender Surgeries for Military Personnel

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On July 13, as the House debated an amendment to the 2018 Pentagon budget bill that would have barred the military from funding servicemembers’ gender reassignment surgeries, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis privately intervened, calling the amendment’s Republican sponsor and asking her to withdraw it from consideration, CNN reports . . .

Of the 200 amendments to the $696 billion National Defense Authorization Act that were being debated in the House, the transgender amendment — offered by conservative Rep. Vicky Hartzler of Missouri — was one of the more contentious, CNN notes.

Hartzler had offered and withdrawn a more expansive amendment in June, one that would have reversed an Obama-era policy allowing transgender service members to serve openly. Hartzler told CNN she withdrew the original amendment to defer action until Mattis had established his stance on transgender troops. But this month, after Mattis gave the military another six months to study the issue, Hartzler filed the new amendment.

“I can confirm that Secretary Mattis spoke with Rep. Hartzler yesterday,” Department of Defense spokesperson Johnny Michael told Task & Purpose in a statement. “However, the Secretary regularly engages with members of Congress to discuss issues of importance to the department and I cannot speak to the specific contents of their conversation.” (Read more from “Mattis Directly Intervened to Save Transgender Surgeries for Military Personnel” HERE)

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Mattis: Syria Still Has Chemical Weapons

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Syria still possesses chemical weapons, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said in Israel on Friday, warning against the banned munitions being used again.

At a news conference in Tel Aviv, Mattis also said that in recent days the Syrian Air Force has dispersed its combat aircraft. The implication is that Syria may be concerned about additional U.S. strikes following the cruise missile attack earlier this month in retaliation for alleged Syrian use of sarin gas.

Mattis spoke alongside Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman. “There can be no doubt in the international community’s mind that Syria has retained chemical weapons in violation of its agreement and its statement that it had removed them all,” said Mattis. He said he didn’t want to elaborate on the amounts Syria has in order to avoid revealing sources of intelligence. (Read more from “Mattis: Syria Still Has Chemical Weapons” HERE)

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