Mattis was confirmed only after Congress waived requirement that officers be retired for 7 years before becoming Sec. of Defense. 42 year military officials normally have deep institutional biases and thus provide poor civilian oversight of US armed forces-Foreign Policy, Micah Zenko

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12/27/18, “James Mattis Wasn’t Ready to Serve in a Democracy” foreignpolicy.com, Micah Zenko

“After the tributes die down, the outgoing defense secretary will be remembered for recklessly expanding, and covering up, the country’s wars.”…

(3rd parag. from end): “In January, when asked about great power competition with Russia and China, Mattis proclaimed, “We don’t invade other countries…we settle things by international rule of law…we respect these as sovereign nations with a sovereign voice and sovereign decisions.” This claim is totally false–-during Mattis’s long and distinguished career, the United States (overtly) invaded or intervened in
 
Cambodia, Grenada, Panama, Somalia, Serbia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, and others,
 
without the approval of their recognized sovereign government.

But, far more worrisome is how this historical amnesia is indicative of the general lack of self-awareness demonstrated by most American civilian and military officials. They literally cannot imagine how the world perceives U.S. military aggression, and why it is a flawed strategy to try to constrain China and Russian actions by championing universalist principles, which the United States itself violates….

Mattis was confirmed only after Congress agreed to waive a requirement that officers be retired for seven years before becoming secretary of defense. Perhaps future presidents and senators—who confirm Pentagon chiefs—should consider whether 42-year military officers can overcome their deep institutional biases and beliefs, and if they are best suited to be the top civilians leading and overseeing the armed forces.” (end of article)



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