re: Mattis as defense secretary: What it means for us, the military, and for Trump

quote:

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If he starts on a tangent about the supremacy of American ideals and values, however, we'd know where his motives lie.

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FWIW this is just one author's opinion of Mattis. We really don't know exactly what his true beliefs about intervention or "continued engagement" are. Up until now he's simply, maybe "simply" is the wrong word here, been a general tasked with carrying out the foriegn policy of the US government. And I think it's important to note that the SECDEF's job is to administrate the DOD and set military posture in accordance with the President's foreign policy objectives.

I think it really depends on how Trump wants to use his top cabinet members. He could appoint a non-interventionist as SECSTATE. If he intends to use his secretary of state as his main foriegn policy advisor and just uses Mattis to build and administrate a military that he wants to see then Mattis's foreign policy worldview may very well be irrelevant.