With the exit of James Mattis, the only person who could raise contrarian views from within the system, White House is bereft of specialist and sagely views
The former Marine Corps General, James Norman Mattis, had acquired mythic and cult-like folklore while still in the ‘uniform’. The image had got caricaturised into monikers like ‘Mad Dog’ and ‘Warrior Monk’, with many true and even fabricated bravado attributed to the chronic bachelor. The Marine Corps-inspired ‘Oorah’ battle-rattle personality had led to popular memes like “was once bitten by a Black Mamba — the Black Mamba died instantly,” “fear of spiders is called arachnophobia, fear of tight spaces is called claustrophobia — fear of Mattis is called logic” and “Saint Mattis of Quantico, patron saint of chaos.” Impressed with the legendary warrior’s popular persona, Donald Trump had described him an “a true general’s general” and inducted him as his Secretary of Defence. The appointment was in line with the alpha-muscularity of Trump’s ‘America First’ and James Mattis became the second man after George Marshal to get a waiver that requires a seven-year cooling off period before assuming Secretary of Defence.
Behind the image lurked the wisdom of 44 years of combat service in the Gulf Wars and Afghanistan, which culminated in the four-star General with responsibilities like the command of Marine Corps Combat Development Command, US Joint Forces Command and US Central Command overseeing operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria and Iran. Besides his operational heroics, he was known to be a voracious reader and student of military history with a personal library of over 7,000 books. The accompanying experience, maturity and gravitas had in recent times led to the more balanced perception as the only ‘grown-up’ left in the fast depleting administration of Donald Trump.
He was often seen assuaging, nuancing and balancing the more intemperate and outrageous statements made by the US President. The straight-speaking former-combatant remained insulated from the whimsicalities that typified Trump, and unlike the President, Mattis stood up for his fellow-combatant Senator John McCain in describing his passing away in a moving way: “We have lost a man who steadfastly represented the best ideals of our country. As a Naval Officer and defiant prisoner of war, John McCain stood with his brothers-in-arms until they returned home together.”
The mass exodus of top officials from the Trump Administration has so far included Secretary of State, Director CIA, Director FBI, Secretary of Interior, Secretary Homeland Security, two White House Chiefs of Staff, two National Security Advisors, three Deputy National Security Advisors, Homeland Security Advisor, White House Chief Strategist, Senior Counselor to the President, three Attorney-Generals and countless others to record the highest turnover ratio of over 60 per cent among the White House positions. The latest to join the bandwagon is Mattis, owing to a very familiar reason of irreconcilability with the outlandish approach of Trump.
In a tellingly drafted resignation letter, James Mattis has alluded to the “sharp differences” and suggested to the President to appoint someone, “whose views are better aligned with yours.” A clear note of dissent, frustration and resignation rides on the back of President Trump’s sudden announcement to withdraw US troops from Syria — something that the professional sensibilities of James Mattis would have militated against.
Despite the ostensible bravado, Mattis is also believed to have disagreed with the President on the hasty decision to withdraw from the Iranian nuclear deal. The prevailing situation harks back to the famous anonymous op-ed in the Washington Post, attributed to a senior official, who speaks on behalf of those who work in the Trump administration by noting, “The root of the problem is the President’s amorality. Anyone who works with him knows he is not moored to any discernible first principles that guide his decision-making.” This rings eerily true in the curious case of the revolving-door in the White House, this time by James Mattis. The piece had captured the impetuosity and pettiness that had to be managed in the White House, as the staff was working to insulate their operations from his whims. Obviously, the situation and equation would have reached a point of no-return, as James Mattis slammed Donald Trump’s boorish rants and fickleness in treating allies and enemies alike by stating: “My views on treating allies with respect and also being clear-eyed about both malign actors and strategic competitors are strongly held and informed by over four decades of immersion in these issues.”
James Mattis’ resignation has re-triggered the whispers of the uncontrollable and reckless decisions emanating from the White House. Trump is perennially on the short fuse with the media which asks probing questions, and now with the exit of the only person who could raise contrarian views from within the system, the most important office in the world is dangerously bereft of specialist alternatives and sagely views.
The clash between the two was in the offing with Bob Woodward’s bestselling book, Fear, depicting an irate James Mattis freezing Trump’s wild plan to assassinate Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and apparently telling some people that the President had a policy understanding of a 10-11 year-old. A few months ago the US President had rued about Mattis saying, “I think he’s sort of a Democrat, if you want to know the truth.” However, it is now becoming increasingly difficult for even Trump’s own Republican Party to defend his decisions and the usually reticent Senate majority leader insisted that the President must now select “a leader who shares Secretary Mattis’ understanding of these vital principles and his total commitment to America’s service members.”
James Mattis will exit with the grace, sobriety and dignity that come naturally to warriors, as the daughter of fellow-combatant and fellow-Republican, John McCain, had said for her father (whilst contextualising Trump): “We gather here to mourn the passing of American greatness. The real thing, not cheap rhetoric from men who will never come near the sacrifice he gave so willingly. Nor the opportunistic appropriation of those who live lives of comfort and privilege while he suffered and served.”
(The writer, a military veteran, is a former Lt Governor of Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Puducherry)
