Friday, March 29, AD 2024 1:08am

A Fisking of the “Mad Dog” Mattis Statement

Former Secretary of Defense, and retired Marine Corps General, James “Mad Dog” Mattis, decided to unleash on his former boss yesterday.  The fact free statement cries out for a fisking, and here it is:

I have watched this week’s unfolding events, angry and appalled. The words “Equal Justice Under Law” are carved in the pediment of the United States Supreme Court. This is precisely what protesters are rightly demanding. It is a wholesome and unifying demand—one that all of us should be able to get behind. We must not be distracted by a small number of lawbreakers. The protests are defined by tens of thousands of people of conscience who are insisting that we live up to our values—our values as people and our values as a nation.

A small number of lawbreakers?  I guess Mad Dog must not have been watching the same coast to coast riots the rest of us were witness to.  As for this whole protest movement, it is a farce.  No one was defending what happened to Mr. Floyd, and most viewing it assumed that he was murdered.  To contend, as the protesters do, that this is typical of police involvement with blacks is not factually supported.  Of course that is not what the protest movement is actually all about.  Its target is to abolish the police and to impose on the nation a radical agenda that cannot be won at the ballot box.

When I joined the military, some 50 years ago, I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution. Never did I dream that troops taking that same oath would be ordered under any circumstance to violate the Constitutional rights of their fellow citizens—much less to provide a bizarre photo op for the elected commander-in-chief, with military leadership standing alongside.

No constitutional rights were violated, unless protesters have a constitutional right to remain where they are on public property without a parade permit. Mad Dog is also disingenuous.  This protest did not occur in a vacuum but took place after a weekend of violent riots in DC.

We must reject any thinking of our cities as a “battlespace” that our uniformed military is called upon to “dominate.” At home, we should use our military only when requested to do so, on very rare occasions, by state governors. Militarizing our response, as we witnessed in Washington, D.C., sets up a conflict—a false conflict—between the military and civilian society. It erodes the moral ground that ensures a trusted bond between men and women in uniform and the society they are sworn to protect, and of which they themselves are a part. Keeping public order rests with civilian state and local leaders who best understand their communities and are answerable to them.

Throughout American history the military has been used to maintain order when the civilian authorities call upon them to do so.  That is what Trump said the military would do to aid local authorities if called upon.  If the local authorities were unable or unwilling to act to maintain order, then he would step in under the Insurrection Act.  We had a fair number of examples of local authorities, for political expediency, allowing mobs to run riot.  That is precisely what Governor Cuomo of New York claimed that Mayor DeBlasio  of New York City was doing .  I can only assume that Mad Dog was unaware, somehow, of all this, or he is simply lying.

James Madison wrote in Federalist 14 that “America united with a handful of troops, or without a single soldier, exhibits a more forbidding posture to foreign ambition than America disunited, with a hundred thousand veterans ready for combat.” We do not need to militarize our response to protests. We need to unite around a common purpose. And it starts by guaranteeing that all of us are equal before the law.

Please.  The idea that the riots would stop by “rallying around a common purpose” is risible.  Additionally, the only groups I can see who are claiming that citizens should not be equal before the law, are those calling for the abolition of the police, such a move putting law abiding citizens at the mercy of any wandering group of armed bandits.

Instructions given by the military departments to our troops before the Normandy invasion reminded soldiers that “The Nazi slogan for destroying us…was ‘Divide and Conquer.’ Our American answer is ‘In Union there is Strength.'” We must summon that unity to surmount this crisis—confident that we are better than our politics.

Summoning up D-Day to support this screed demonstrates that Mad Dog’s reputation as a student of military history is vastly over rated.  Of course our military at that time was highly segregated, with blacks serving almost entirely in support units, usually in very menial tasks.  Invoking that memory only highlights how far the country has come in pursuit of racial equality.

Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try. Instead he tries to divide us. We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership. We can unite without him, drawing on the strengths inherent in our civil society. This will not be easy, as the past few days have shown, but we owe it to our fellow citizens; to past generations that bled to defend our promise; and to our children.

I can only assume that Mad Dog was asleep during the Obama administration when that administration weaponized the Federal government against its adversaries, especially the IRS.  I guess he has forgotten the scorn with which Obama rejected Republican input on ObamaCare with the rejoinder, “We won, you lost.”  I can only further assume that Mad Dog wasn’t paying attention to the Resistance that, even prior to Trump taking office, was calling him an illegitimate President, and has pursued every method, based on utter fraud, to remove him from office.  This nation was divided long before Trump came on the political scene.  Those divisions were not caused by him, and have been inflamed much more by his adversaries than by him over the past four years.

We can come through this trying time stronger, and with a renewed sense of purpose and respect for one another. The pandemic has shown us that it is not only our troops who are willing to offer the ultimate sacrifice for the safety of the community. Americans in hospitals, grocery stores, post offices, and elsewhere have put their lives on the line in order to serve their fellow citizens and their country. We know that we are better than the abuse of executive authority that we witnessed in Lafayette Square. We must reject and hold accountable those in office who would make a mockery of our Constitution. At the same time, we must remember Lincoln’s “better angels,” and listen to them, as we work to unite.

I find it amusing that Mad Dog mentions the Pandemic, in which traditional American liberties were routinely trampled upon, in such glowing terms, especially since the protests, egged on by Democrat governors and mayors, demonstrate that the lockdowns were never about health and always about politics.  I guess mad dogs have brief attention spans.

Only by adopting a new path—which means, in truth, returning to the original path of our founding ideals—will we again be a country admired and respected at home and abroad.

 

 

 

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Father of Seven
Father of Seven
Thursday, June 4, AD 2020 4:31am

To quote the Dread Pirate Roberts: We are men of action, lies do not become us. Apparently, even a former “man of action” won’t be spared from Trump Derangement Syndrome when pride “is on the line”. As far as President Trump not even trying to be a uniter, go tell that to the unborn General Mattis. I am ashamed to see you live up to your name. You are a mad dog.

Art Deco
Art Deco
Thursday, June 4, AD 2020 6:30am

My response to the general would be “You were fired for cause. Shut up. We don’t benefit from humbug out of the mouths of retired military any more than we benefit from it out of the mouths of academic or bishopettes”. You’re patient and meticulous. Like a lawyer.

I’m afraid two people in my family have posted Mattis’ bilge, which is, in my view, exceedingly ill-timed and likely pride-driven. One is a chronic blowhard I am under an interdict to not respond, but another is the dearest among my close cousins, a retired schoolteacher who does not vote Democratic.

T. Shaw
T. Shaw
Thursday, June 4, AD 2020 7:03am

As opposed to Obama whose eight horrid years set back race relations 100 years.

For whom does Mattis work? China?

He’s just another idiot that’s dumber than a flea.
An old joke about the so-call “Crotch:” Too often when they walk the man out the front gate for the last time, they forget to reissue his brain.

Patrick
Patrick
Thursday, June 4, AD 2020 7:07am

I recall that part of the oath required for me to serve in the military was that “ I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”
Looting and rioting as a form of political protest seems to be a greater threat to our constitutional government than were those posed by leaders of several nations that we invaded without meaningful congressional oversight and at great cost.
There were several high ranking military officers who opposed the Iraq war, and my opinion is that the most talented and articulate was General Anthony Zinni. He has written several books and some of his talks are on you tube; demonstrating his ability to analyze and explains complex problems then offers reasonable solutions without a political agenda.
General Mattis on the other hand fails to provide a meaningful analysis of situations while spouting platitudes and funny but shallow jokes.
When General Zinni was being criticized for daring to insist that congress perform its duty to debate the Bush Iraq invasion and occupation plans, General Mattis did not seem concerned about the constitutional responsibility of congress regarding war. In retrospect we see that all of General Zinni’s concerns and predictions were valid.
Although General Mattis proved to be a talented and loyal general during the war, his performance as the secretary of defense was unimpressive. His understanding and respect for the constitution seems to be a recent event and applied selectively to support a biased political agenda rather than for the good of the republic it was designed to protect

Steve Phoenix
Steve Phoenix
Thursday, June 4, AD 2020 7:54am

It is telling that St. Mattis had his op-ed [screed] published in that noble source of Washington Left-State-Think, The Atlantic—-the same fine objective publication that endorsed none other than Susan Rice as Bidementia’s VP choice—-so that when ol’ Joe is carted off to the memory-care sanitarium, the Obama-Holder-Rice DeepState will live on.

snootybaronet
snootybaronet
Thursday, June 4, AD 2020 7:58am

Mad Dem not Mad Dog

Art Deco
Art Deco
Thursday, June 4, AD 2020 8:03am

I’d be happy to hear from Gen. Mattis on matters on which he is expert. I’d be happy to hear from him on matters of general interest. However, his remarks should be uttered at appropriate times, his remarks should be disinterested, and his remarks should not be humbug. He fails on all three counts here. (For starters, it isn’t possible for any president to effect any sort of reconciliation when there is not a basis in common goals and common sentiments, and there simply is not right now. George W. Bush was the least combative of any president in my memory. Didn’t stop north of 40% of the population from loathing him.

Dale Price
Dale Price
Thursday, June 4, AD 2020 9:58am

It’s a disappointing statement which either understates or–more frequently–ignores certain facts.
Trump hasn’t been the equal to the riot crisis, but to ignore the horrific damage and deliberate attacks on the forces of law and order by malevolent actors is mind-boggling. And let’s not get started with the whole “Demonstrating Against Racism” exceptions to pandemic precautions deliberately endorsed by our so-called leadership and professional classes.
Mattis presumes a nation with common ideals, devotion to the same definition of the common good, and good faith leadership by state actors. The facts supporting this presumption are very much not in evidence.

SSgt USMCR
Thursday, June 4, AD 2020 10:07am

My wife and I had breakfast with Gen. Mattis [along with 40+ others] right before the election in 2016. We were disappointed that he did not criticize either Obama’s lawlessness and traitorous dealings [cf: Iran] nor Hillary’s lack of any accomplishments as Secty of State. We chalked it up to politics, but in retrospect, it was showing his true thoughts. It is sad to see an accomplished general go in this direction.

T. Shaw
T. Shaw
Thursday, June 4, AD 2020 10:58am

The Stopped Clock Factor: Years ago from Mattis, “I don’t understand it. It’s like America has lost faith in rational thought.”

Pinky
Pinky
Thursday, June 4, AD 2020 4:34pm

I’d put us at 11 years of immature leadership. Maybe not with division as a goal, but accepted as a means to an end.

Art Deco
Art Deco
Thursday, June 4, AD 2020 5:29pm

Trump hasn’t been the equal to the riot crisis,

Disagree. The federal authorities are the 3d line of defense in these cases.

Kmbold
Kmbold
Friday, June 5, AD 2020 4:11pm

I’d vote for Donald McClarey for president any day, just on the strength of this “fisking”. But in November my entire (large) family and I will be at the polls too, to vote for that other Donald, Trump.

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