The Warrior Monk Steps Down

Unfortunately, the wrong person has resigned. The Mattis letter below is a clear rebuke of the impulsive and misguided foreign policy of the person who should resign. Donald Trump has delighted fellow authoritarians Vladimir Putin and Bashar al-Assad as well as the Islamic State. He has shown our allies that we are now unworthy of their respect.

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
1000 DEFENSE PENTAGON
WASHINGTON, DC 20301-1000
December 20, 2018

Dear Mr. President:

I have been privileged to serve as our country’s 26th Secretary of Defense which has allowed me to serve alongside our men and women of the Department in defense of our citizens and our ideals.

I am proud of the progress that has been made over the past two years on some of the key goals articulated in our National Defense Strategy: putting the Department on a more sound budgetary footing, improving readiness and lethality in our forces, and reforming the Department’s business practices for greater performance. Our troops continue to provide the capabilities needed to prevail in conflict and sustain strong U.S. global influence.

One core belief I have always held is that our strength as a nation is inextricably linked to the strength of our unique and comprehensive system of alliances and partnerships. While the U.S. remains the indispensable nation in the free world, we cannot protect our interests or serve that role effectively without maintaining strong alliances and showing respect to those allies. Like you, I have said from the beginning that the armed forces of the United States should not be the policeman of the world.

Instead, we must use all tools of American power to provide for the common defense, including providing effective leadership to our alliances. NATO’s 29 democracies demonstrated that strength in their commitment to fighting alongside us following the 9/11 attack on America. The Defeat-ISIS coalition of 74 nations is further proof.

Similarly, I believe we must he resolute and unambiguous in our approach to those countries whose strategic interests are increasingly in tension with ours. It is clear that China and Russia, for example, want to shape a world consistent with their authoritarian model gaining veto authority over other nations’ economic, diplomatic, and security decisions to promote their own interests at the expense of their neighbors, America and our allies. That is why we must use all the tools of American power to provide for the common defense.

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. We must do everything possible to advance an international order that is most conducive to our security, prosperity and values, and we are strengthened in this effort by the solidarity of our alliances.

Because you have the right to have a Secretary of Defense whose views are better aligned with yours on these and other subjects, I believe it is right for me to step down from my position. The end date of my tenure is February 28, 2019, a date that should allow sufficient time for a successor to be nominated and confirmed as well as to make sure the Department’s interests are properly articulated and protected at upcoming events to include Congressional posture hearings and the NATO Defense Ministerial meeting in February. Further, that a full transition to a new Secretary of Defense occurs well in advance of the transition of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in September in order to ensure stability within the Department.

I pledge my full effort to a smooth transition that ensures the needs and interests of the 2.15 million Service Members and the 732,079 DoD civilians receive undistracted attention of the Department of all times so that they can fulfill their critical, round-the-clock mission to protect the American people.

I very much appreciate this opportunity to serve the nation and our men and women in uniform.

James N. Mattis

Dent Opposes Arming Moderate Syrian Rebels

Congressman Charlie Dent is opposed to a Bill that would arm and train moderate Syrian rebels. His No vote was on the losing end of a 273-156 vote in which House Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi were united.

His explanation:

“There may have been a time when, in 2011 or 2012, arming Syrian moderates would have been possible with a reasonable chance for success. That time has likely passed.

"Too many questions remain today that cannot be answered to my satisfaction. How will we effectively vet the opposition forces? How will we ensure that arms delivered will not be sold to ISIS forces or used against already persecuted people in the region, such as the Syrian Christians? In my opinion, the Administration has not provided reasonable answers to these key questions.

"ISIS is antithetical to American and civilized ideas of justice, equality and decency. They have demonstrated this fact with their barbaric beheadings of Americans James Foley and Steven Sotloff and of British aid worker David Haines.

"ISIS needs to be rooted out and destroyed, but to do so we need a comprehensive plan. What was proposed today was only a partial plan.

"Everyone is familiar with the saying ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t.’ It certainly fits the notion of our being able to reliably identify and arm Syrian ‘moderates.’ With that in mind, I believe that if we err – it should be on the side of caution.”

LV Syrian Community Wearing Assad T-Shirts on DC Bus Trip

The Express Times has photos of LV Syrian residents on a protest pilgrimage to the White House, to signal Obama that Assad's chemical attacks are alright with them. After all, they're here. Incredibly, several are depicted wearing Assad T-shirts.

Updated 12:57 PM: Joint Statement on Syria:

"We condemn in the strongest terms the horrific chemical weapons attack in the suburbs of Damascus on August 21st that claimed the lives of so many men, women, and children. The evidence clearly points to the Syrian government being responsible for the attack, which is part of a pattern of chemical weapons use by the regime.

"We call for a strong international response to this grave violation of the world’s rules and conscience that will send a clear message that this kind of atrocity can never be repeated. Those who perpetrated these crimes must be held accountable."

Countries: Albania, Australia, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Honduras, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Morocco, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and United States.

Assad, who has told Le Figaro that "the fire is approaching." He told Charlie Rose, "Eepect every action."

Updated 2 PM: A Russian Solution?

Russia is attempting to defuse this crisis by suggesting that Syria's chemical weapons be placed under international control. Since the whole point of a military strike is to degrade Assad's ability to use these weapons on his own people, this might be an answer and is worth considering.

President Pontius Pilate

The spin that Secretary of State John Kerry is selling to the Sunday talk shows is that President Barack Obama is acting courageously by seeking Congressional approval for a military response to Syria's use of chemical weapons against its own people. I'm sure Vladimir Putin would agree.

Congress, when they finally decide, will scream, "Give us Barabbas.!"

And Obama will wash his hands.

Wonder how he'd handle the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Christians Losing Heads in Syria ... Literally

In disturbing news for the Lehigh Valley's large Lebanese and Syrian Christian communities, the Vatican has confirmed that a Catholic priest and another Christian in Syria have been beheaded by an extremist rebel sect calling itself Jabhat al-Nusra.

With a kitchen knife.

Now that we're supplying rebels with weapons, they'll use better knives.

But look on the bright side.

They could be Jews.  

Tough Choice

The President's decision to intervene in Syria presents an unsavory choice: allowing a monster to use chemical weapons to terrorize the innocent; or allowing other monsters aligned with al-Qaeda to terrorize the innocent.

What's the right choice?