I didn’t like Mattis.
After all the cult of personality gimmicks and quotes, his views on Islamic terrorism were disturbingly establishment. While he was an advocate for using greater force, which was good, he refused to address or to allow to be addressed, the central problem.
And he went out of his way to pander to Islam.
But his resignation letter is a compact and concise statement of his views and disagreements. The key breach with Trump can be found here.
We must do everything possible to advance an international order that is most conducive to our security, prosperity and values, and we are strengthened in this effort by the solidarity of our alliances.
Because you have the right to have a Secretary of Defense whose views are better aligned with yours on these and other subjects, I believe it is right for me to step down from my position.
The key words here are, “international order”.
Maintaining an international order was our fundamental Cold War strategy. And it’s remained our strategy. no matter how irrelevant it might be to current events. An international order is not necessarily a bad thing, it can be a quite good one. But not when it constantly comes at the expense of our national interests and security, and yet produces little worthwhile and much that is destructive.
Mattis understood Trump’s views going on. He just didn’t take them seriously. That’s a typical establishment fallacy in which views that don’t align with a lefty worldview are treated as bizarre and unserious.
But it’s a question worth asking. Should we focus on protecting our citizens or maintain an international order.
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