Do you care about our military and national security?

[Dill]

(06-12-2020, 12:01 PM)hollodero Wrote: The cointossing is a fair point. As to the latter, I honestly can start with the very first name on that list. Not that I'd be certain, but there is a fair chance imho. With other names, some of those I'd trust not to be, some others not so much. Admittedly, many I don't really know much about, but I trust no republican general in general, and only a few US politicians really. Not when it comes to peacekeeping at least.

Mattis a) did not resign after Trump pulled out of the Iran deal and b) blamed aggressive Iranian behaviour for said pulling out. He seemed quite positive about the decision in congressional hearings.
That he might sing some different tunes now doesn't make me trust him again.
Similar story with Kelly.

I concede that you are right on many other points though.

I will throw in that wiki quote though "In characterizing the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, he [Mullen] described them as "a fight against a syndicate of Islamic extremists led by al-Qaeda"... aaaand there goes my trust. Btw. Ash Carter supported the Iraq war too and advocated preventative invasions in Iran and North Korea. I should trust that guy?

Just a quick couple of points in response:

The "very first" name on the list is the guy who learned war in Vietnam and developed a very reasonable post-Vietnam policy for use of force--e.g., clear metrics and end goal, fixed termination date--all of which the Bush regime violated. You'll say "What about his UN speech pressing for war in Iraq?"  To which I respond 1) he repeatedly warned Bush against the invasion, and 2) did his "duty" at the UN as a serving secretary when Tenet convinced him that unvetted intel about Iraq was actually vetted.  He considers that speech THE stain on his reputation.  Nothing in his character or history as advisor suggests that, were he president, anything short of an Al Qaeda-style direct attack on the US or perhaps a NATO partner could provoke him to war.

As for Mattis,  He talks like a Marine general at times, but last I heard, had no ambitions to run for president. I don't think he has a good strategic vision in the Middle East, and would not be a good president, but still WAY more trustworthy than Trump. Primary reason for that--he recognized that pulling out of the Iran Deal was bad and destabilizing, but hung as long as he could to (as I said above) control Trump. So already MUCH better judgment than the guy who broke the deal. Like many who finally gave up, it is quite plausible to think he assumed he was protecting the nation and past diplomatic achievements from Trump's ongoing vandalism.

Carter advocated striking NK's Taepodong ICBM should they put it on a launch pad to test it. Not quite an invasion. As for Iran, he supported the Iran Deal and predicted the destabilization of the region which followed trashing it.  This guy's (and Mullen's) views might seem hawkish to you, but there is just no reason that they or any of the guys on Fred's list would deliberately undo stabilizing diplomacy and then play chicken with a deadly adversary--all while "knowing more" than the generals.

Finally, your Mullen quote comes from a 2010 JCS speech on the relation of the military to diplomacy and foreign policy which includes this line:

  "U.S. foreign policy is still too dominated by the military, too dependent upon the generals and admirals who lead our major overseas commands.  It’s one thing to be able and willing to serve as emergency responders; quite another to always have to be the fire chief."https://web.archive.org/web/20100310104009/http://www.jcs.mil/speech.aspx?ID=1336

In his advocacy of soft power, criticism of policy "too dependent upon the generals," he seems rather a far cry from Trump.

I don't want to get deeply into it here, but in my view his approach to global strategy was most informed, flexible, and logically consistent of any US military leader in the 21st century. Very attuned to the problem of "unknown unknowns." He is in fact the guy I would trust the most, out of all those listed.