| 摘要 | General Jim Mattis is a fine choice for secretary of defense. He obviously has great leadership abilities, and everyone he will deal with in the job knows and respects his integrity.
Both John McCain and Leon Panetta, two men who have never been reluctant to criticize when they felt it was called for, have strongly supported Mattis. Here is what McCain said:
That sums it up nicely.
Like many of the appointments President-elect Trump is making, the choice of Mattis is unusual; the typical thinking in Washington, reflected in the statutes, is that retired generals and flag officers should not serve as the top political leaders in the Pentagon. But these are unusual times, and General Mattis as the new secretary offers distinct advantages to the incoming administration.
First, though many in Washington seem to have forgotten it, the United States is currently engaged in combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Trump administration will have some difficult operational choices to make about how to prosecute those conflicts, and General Mattis, as a former regional combatant commander, will be uniquely positioned to assist the new president in making those decisions.
Yes, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Joe Dunford, is already available to give advice on ongoing operations. But many heads make wise counsel, provided that the various advisers act collegially, and I see no reason to believe that Mattis and Dunford — both Marines, who know each other well — cannot act collegially.
Second, the new president obviously respects General Mattis, meshes well with him personally, and is enthusiastic about having him on the team. This is quite important, since the defense secretary, unlike many other cabinet officers, sees and briefs the president on a regular basis. One of the SecDef’s most important and immediate tasks is to gain the president’s confidence; General Mattis seems to have it already.
Third, General Mattis is known and respected by uniformed personnel throughout the department. He is well aware of the sacrifices that the men and women of the armed forces make on a routine basis, and he enters the job with their confidence. His appointment is for them a sign of hope, something that right now is desperately needed.
Fourth, and most important, the next secretary will be tasked with executing the president-elect’s excellent plan for rebuilding America’s military strength.
Having been the top commander in a vital but unstable part of the world, and given the respect with which Mattis is held in the Congress, I expect that the new secretary will be able to speak with authority about the disastrous consequences of the defense cuts and the importance of America’s military strength to the security and interests of the American people.
With the election of Donald Trump, the window is now open to rebuild the tools of American power. Nothing is more important to the success of the incoming administration, in both its foreign and its domestic policies. General Mattis as secretary of defense will be well placed to lead the effort. He knows the “building” (the Pentagon), he has the trust of the new president, and he will be able to speak with authority to the Congress and the public about what must now be done. The way should be cleared for him in Congress as soon as possible, and all of us who have been hoping and working for this opportunity must wish him well and support him in any way we can. |
