Mattis
Breaks Silence on Trump, Denounces Divisiveness as Protests Rage
Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis
announces the National Defense Strategy at Johns Hopkins University School of
Advanced International Studies in Washington, Jan. 19, 2018. (DoD/Navy Mass
Communication Specialist 1st Class Kathryn E. Holm)
3 Jun 2020
Military.com | By Richard Sisk
Former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has said in the past
that he had a "duty of silence" to the administration following his
service. On Wednesday, it appeared that duty came to an end.
In scathing terms, Mattis charged Wednesday that President
Donald Trump has failed in his duties to the Constitution and the American
people with a faltering response to nationwide protests over the death of
George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Mattis denounced what he called the
"militarization" of Washington, D.C., and the use of force to drive
protesters away from the White House in what he said was the culmination of a
Trump presidency aimed at setting Americans against one another.
"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," Mattis said in an article for The Atlantic
magazine.
"We are witnessing the consequences of three years of
this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years
without mature leadership," the retired Marine general and former head of
U.S. Central Command said.
The only recourse for the nation was to "unite without
him, drawing on the strengths inherent in our civil society," Mattis said.
Mattis had served Trump as defense secretary since shortly
after the inauguration, and mostly kept his disagreements with the mercurial
president under wraps. But he resigned in December 2018 over Trump's surprise
announcement that U.S. troops would withdraw from Syria, and his constant
belittlement of allies.
Since stepping down, he had avoided direct criticism of
Trump. But in Wednesday's statement, Mattis was unsparing.
"We must reject and hold accountable those in office
who would make a mockery of our Constitution," he said.
"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," he continued.
The demand is "one that all of us should be able to get
behind," Mattis said. "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."
It was those values that Trump had mocked or ignored
throughout his term in office, Mattis said, leaving the American people to find
a path forward for themselves.
"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," Mattis said.
Trump's choice of Mattis as defense secretary came as
something of a surprise, as did Mattis' quick acceptance of the nomination, but
there were initial signs that their relationship would be challenged.
In introducing Mattis at his Bedminster, New Jersey, estate
in December 2015, Trump called him "Mad Dog," a nickname Mattis
detests. In his first meeting with Pentagon reporters, Mattis insisted that
they call him "Jim."
After Mattis resigned, Trump appeared to have settled on
Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, a former Boeing executive, as a
successor, but Shanahan withdrew after details began to emerge over a messy
domestic issue.
Trump then picked Mark Esper, who was serving as Army secretary,
to be the next civilian leader of the Pentagon. Confirmed by the Senate in July
2019, Esper now also seems to be on thin ice with Trump.
On Monday, Trump berated the nation's governors for what he
saw as their "weak" response to the protests and said he was prepared
to invoke the Insurrection Act to send active-duty troops into their states.
On Wednesday, Esper said he was against using the
Insurrection Act right now and called for healing wounds and ending racism in
the nation and within the ranks of the military.
-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.
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