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Defense Secretary Mattis Is Out

tomahawk6 said:
The Pentagon is considering using small teams of Special Operations forces to strike the Islamic State in Syria, one option for continuing an American military mission there despite President Trump’s order to withdraw troops from the country.
Interesting. 

Trump doesn't get his multi-billion dollars for a wall because of that whole democratic process (you know, with those pesky elected representatives ), and it's disloyal and treasonous ... yet if the military goes into contingency planning mode to circumvent unusually clear Presidential direction, well that's perfectly fine.
    :pop:
 
Journeyman said:
Interesting. 

Trump doesn't get his multi-billion dollars for a wall because of that whole democratic process (you know, with those pesky elected representatives ), and it's disloyal and treasonous ... yet if the military goes into contingency planning mode to circumvent unusually clear Presidential court-ordered direction, well that's perfectly fine.
    :pop:

Like freedom of Information requests??
 
Brett McGurk, special presidential envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, had been planning to exit his post in February 2019. But sources tell CBS News that he informed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that he will accelerate his departure due to a strong disagreement with President Trump's snap decision to withdraw 2,000 U.S. troops from Syria, effectively abandoning U.S. allies in the region.

McGurk submitted his resignation on Friday, just one day after Defense Secretary James Mattis quit his post citing fundamental disagreements with the commander-in-chief -- including one over the importance of honoring U.S. alliances.

The special envoy was publicly left in the lurch by the president's sudden declaration on Wednesday that he was pulling U.S. forces out of Syria, against the advice of his top national security advisers and without consulting U.S. allies.

...

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/brett-mcgurk-top-u-s-envoy-in-isis-fight-to-quit/
 
tomahawk6 said:
McGurk was an Obama toadie so no big loss IMO.

You're talking about this McGurk, right?

  In 2005, he was transferred to the National Security Council, where he served as Director for Iraq, and later as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2006, McGurk became an early advocate for a fundamental change in Iraq policy and helped develop what is now known as the surge, which began in January 2007. In his book Decision Points, President George W. Bush refers to McGurk as part of his "personal band of warriors" that led to a new strategy and reset the trajectory of the war.[10] President Bush later asked McGurk to lead negotiations with Ambassador Ryan Crocker to establish a Strategic Framework Agreement and Security Agreement with the Government of Iraq, thereby ensuring continuity in policy beyond the end of his administration.[11] In 2009, McGurk became one of only three political appointees to survive the transition from George W. Bush to Barack Obama, serving as a Senior Advisor to both the President and the United States Ambassador to Iraq.[12]

So pretty much appointed by Bush and highly valued by him.

:subbies:
 
These facts might interest you. Its good that he fell on his sword. If it were me all the Obama appointee's should have departed when Trump came in. But hey that's just me. If an appointee objects to policy leaving is best.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-syria-mcgurk-idUSKCN1OL0HX

McGurk was appointed by Obama in 2015 and has been instrumental in shaping Washington’s policy in northern Syria, particularly its backing of Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militia that have been fighting Islamic State with U.S. support for three years.
 
tomahawk6 said:
These facts might interest you. Its good that he fell on his sword. If it were me all the Obama appointee's should have departed when Trump came in. But hey that's just me. If an appointee objects to policy leaving is best.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-syria-mcgurk-idUSKCN1OL0HX

McGurk was appointed by Obama in 2015 and has been instrumental in shaping Washington’s policy in northern Syria, particularly its backing of Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militia that have been fighting Islamic State with U.S. support for three years.

So merely a coincidence it’s the same last name as the guy that POTUS 43 appointed, then? ???


Regards
G2G
 
I guess he served during the Bush administration as a Special Assistant before working for Obama. As I said before if you don't agree with the policy of the President its time to go. He is resigning a few months early at the end of the month. Somehow the government will manage without him.
 
It looks like Trump is firing Mattis before his resignation can take effect. Trump announced today (on twitter of course) that Patrick Shanahan (former Boeing exec) will take over as acting SecDef effective 1 January. Allegedly this is in the wake of the stinging coverage of Mattis' resignation letter in the days following its release.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/23/us/politics/trump-mattis.html

WASHINGTON — President Trump said on Sunday that he would remove Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who issued a stinging rebuke of the president when he announced his resignation last week, from his post by Jan. 1, two months before he had planned to depart.

Mr. Trump, in a Twitter post, said that Patrick M. Shanahan, Mr. Mattis’s deputy, would serve as the acting defense secretary.

Aides said that the president was furious that Mr. Mattis’s resignation letter — in which he rebuked the president’s rejection of international allies and his failure to check authoritarian governments — had led to days of negative news coverage. Mr. Mattis resigned in large part over Mr. Trump’s hasty decision to withdraw American forces from Syria.

When Mr. Trump first announced that Mr. Mattis was leaving, effective Feb. 28, he praised the defense secretary on Twitter. One aide said that though Mr. Trump already had the resignation letter when he praised Mr. Mattis, he did not understand just how forceful a rejection of his strategy Mr. Mattis had issued.

The president has grown increasingly angry as the days have passed, the aide said. On Saturday, Mr. Trump posted a tweet that took a jab at Mr. Mattis, saying that “when President Obama ingloriously fired Jim Mattis, I gave him a second chance. Some thought I shouldn’t, I thought I should.”

Mr. Mattis, a retired four-star general, led the United States Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East and Southwest Asia, from 2010 to 2013. His tour there was cut short by the Obama administration, which believed he was too hawkish on Iran.

Mr. Shanahan, who, like Mr. Mattis, is from Washington State, is a former Boeing executive. Aides say that Mr. Trump likes him in part because he often tells the president that he is correct to complain about the expense of defense systems.
 
He would still need to be confirmed by the Senate which shouldn't be a problem since they had confirmed him for the #2 spot. So I doubt that he will be confirmed in Jan. but maybe.
 
Brihard said:
It looks like Trump is firing Mattis before his resignation can take effect. Trump announced today (on twitter of course) that Patrick Shanahan (former Boeing exec) will take over as acting SecDef effective 1 January. Allegedly this is in the wake of the stinging coverage of Mattis' resignation letter in the days following its release.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/23/us/politics/trump-mattis.html

. . .

I guess someone finally read the Mattis resignation letter to Trump. --- or explained to him what it really said.  ;D

:subbies:
 
More on Shanahan/Boeing--note F-15X ( lots more below at https://milnet.ca/forums/threads/120786/post-1557340.html#msg1557340 )--further links at original:

Boeing’s Pentagon Takeover
Patrick Shanahan, a former executive for the aerospace giant, is poised to take over for Secretary of Defense James Mattis.

Boeing’s growing clout with U.S. President Donald Trump’s Pentagon can no longer be ignored.

Trump announced Sunday morning on Twitter that he is forcing outgoing Defense Secretary James Mattis to leave earlier than expected, and he named Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan, a former Boeing executive, as acting secretary. Mattis, a retired Marine general, was slated to leave at the end of February. Shanahan will now take over on Jan. 1.

“Patrick has a long list of accomplishments while serving as Deputy, & previously Boeing. He will be great!” Trump tweeted.

Although Shanahan has not been formally tapped for secretary of defense, which requires Senate confirmation, sources say he is one of the White House’s top picks for the job.

Shanahan’s ascent is just the latest manifestation of the growing influence the world’s largest aerospace company has in Trump’s Pentagon. In the last six months, Boeing has won three multibillion-dollar competitions for major Department of Defense aircraft programs, despite massive delays in delivering a new tanker fleet to the U.S. Air Force.

Now, senior Pentagon leaders are forcing the Air Force to purchase a new version of Boeing’s legacy F-15 fighter, a non-stealth jet that first flew in 1972, which will compete for the Air Force’s limited resources with Lockheed Martin’s new F-35 fighter jet.

The reportedly $1.2 billion proposal to buy the a dozen new variants of the “F-15X,” the same version of the aircraft Boeing is building for Qatar, reflects Boeing’s outsize influence with senior leaders in the Trump administration, a phenomenon that dates back to the beginning of the president’s term. As early as February 2017, Trump floated buying additional Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets, instead of the F-35. The U.S. Navy placed an order for over 100 new Super Hornets this spring.

Trump also has a personal relationship with Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg. The two men negotiated directly to reach a $3.9 billion deal for a new Air Force One presidential aircraft, which Trump claimed saves taxpayers $1.4 billion.

Certainly, Boeing has fought hard to offer the Pentagon its products at extremely competitive prices and allowed the department to boast considerable cost savings.

Boeing has adopted “an across-the-board aggressive posture in lobbying, pricing, and product development, largely due to fears that they were being eclipsed,” said Richard Aboulafia of the Teal Group. In addition, “very strong profits from Boeing’s commercial jetliner side … permits more aggressive bids by the military side.”

Boeing declined to comment.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/12/23/boeing-pentagon-takeover-defense-department-mattis-shanahan/

Mark
Ottawa
 
FJAG said:
I guess someone finally read the Mattis resignation letter to Trump. --- or explained to him what it really said.  ;D

:subbies:

He's gotta be on some kind of drugs.
 
Jarnhamar said:
He's gotta be on some kind of drugs.

I’m sure he approached the matter with his usual maturity, wisdom, and sagacity. He could hardly afford two more months of a rogue SecDef prone to impulsivity and insubordination.
 
Brihard said:
I’m sure he approached the matter with his usual maturity, wisdom, and sagacity. He could hardly afford two more months of a rogue SecDef prone to impulsivity and insubordination.
I think I try and convince myself that Trumps breaking the politician mold, challenging the status quo and taking an all new approach to being president. But holy shit I just can't wrap my head around what's going through his. He reminds me of those videos of kids in a shopping cart racing down hill towards an intersection.

Maybe what Trump really is is a true example of what a politician is without the polish, glib and silver tongue tradecraft.
 
Obama fired Mattis over Iran policy. Trump as chief executive can hire or fire anyone he wants. I think resignation over policy is more of a European thing.Look at the Brexit fiasco in the UK.
 
Jarnhamar said:
I think I try and convince myself that Trumps breaking the politician mold, challenging the status quo and taking an all new approach to being president. But holy crap I just can't wrap my head around what's going through his. He reminds me of those videos of kids in a shopping cart racing down hill towards an intersection.

Maybe what Trump really is is a true example of what a politician is without the polish, glib and silver tongue tradecraft.

I could agree with you to an extent.. but some of the things he has done lacks even proper decent etiquette.

Now I only loosely follow American politics and from I have heard he has done some amazing things. But I think he has wrecked his good with his attitude which is a touch over the edge.. but having said that he may never got into power if he wasnt over the edge.. so it is a catch 22.

He is in charge, he was voted in, so he gets to make the calls. Everyone needs to live with that, so I support him as the legitimate leader of the USA but his followers need not agree with him.. so if some desire to quit because of the course he plots that is all well and good. But if they quit because of his piss poor personality, then that becomes something to address and he could be paving the path for an even more extreme politician to get elected following his model and that could be very bad.

Abdullah

Ps completely misread the post I was replying to. That's why this makes no sense. Sorry.
 
Jarnhamar said:
I think I try and convince myself that Trumps breaking the politician mold, challenging the status quo and taking an all new approach to being president. But holy crap I just can't wrap my head around what's going through his. He reminds me of those videos of kids in a shopping cart racing down hill towards an intersection.

Maybe what Trump really is is a true example of what a politician is without the polish, glib and silver tongue tradecraft.

Or this:

IOWb4uT.jpg


https://imgur.com/gallery/CtCaY

:subbies:
 
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