General Mattis wouldn’t take the bait. We just had an hour
with the former Defense Secretary on a Council on Foreign Relations conference
call. Council President Richard Haas tried to little avail to cajole Mattis into
commenting on the current Administration.
Mattis wouldn’t do it though, as he wrote in his December resignation
letter, he emphasized again that his career-long belief in the essential role of
allies and alliances put him at odds with the Administration and triggered his
resignation. Interestingly, he said that “globalization is not a policy, it’s
a reality.” He added, “The more connected we are as nations, the better off we
are." This is a beyond-the-obvious reminder, though a necessary one at
a time when some Americans seem to believe otherwise.
“I don’t believe when you leave an Administration
over policy that you engage in kiss and tell," Mattis said, adding,"I’m not going to make their jobs
more difficult by speaking out” now. He also invoked Omar Bradley who said
that, “When a General retires his uniform, he should retire his tongue, too.” He
cited the reluctance of George Washington and George Marshall to criticize a sitting
occupant of the White House, as well, and applauded President Obama similarly. He
promises to have more to say in due course, which always raises the question of
whether honorable leaders such as Mattis are applying longstanding traditions of decency and
sanity to a White House totally lacking in these qualities.
Haas reminded Mattis of the latter’s criticism of Presidents
G.W. Bush and Obama on key decisions while he was an active-duty General.
Indeed, Haas underscored that Mattis took Bush to task for the lack of planning
for the aftermath of the Iraq War as well as the foolish decisions to disband the
army and the Ba’ath Party. So too, Mattis chose not to be silent in criticizing
Obama’s decision to remove troops from Iraq as well as the President’s handling
of Egypt and Mubarak during the Arab Spring. Still, Mattis wouldn't tell us what he really thinks of the current leadership. Not yet, anyway.
Mattis reinforced the importance of humility in
effective leadership, a lesson that is completely ignored in the White House these
days. “Remember that the guy or gal who disagrees with you; they’re right every
once in a while,” he said. At a time when the Administration is utterly soiled
by corruption, incompetence, and arrogance, a leader like General Jim Mattis reminds
us what it means to be a decent, honorable statesmen. We need more of them. And we need to hear more from him, real soon.
Image courtesy of ABC News.