Trump's frontrunners for Pentagon job likely to share Mattis' views on Syria, Afghanistan

Fox News ^ | December 21, 2018 | Lukas Mikelionis

[Alberta's Child]

Can that dope even explain coherently what “finish the job” means?

[Jarhead9297]

Trump needs to listen to his Generals on many issues. Just because generals have a differing view on war matters (which I’d trust to a general over any president and politician) doesn’t make that general liberal. It make the general either right or wrong and the only way one finds that out is if the plan is stuck to. Not everyone that may disagree with the president on certain matters is an automatic liberal

[familyop]

"You are not going to win anything with 2000 troops in a country filled with the Syrian Army, the Russians, the Iranians, the Kurds, the Turks, Syrian Rebels and A few Al Queda and Isis scattered around."

That's what the most likely picks for Secretary of Defense said, and what every honest officer will say. They want a larger force in Syria. This was intended to be the time for the last step in the War on Terror, which we were told would last 30 years or more.

There was a strategic reason for the chosen sequence of countries involved. I'm surprised it isn't obvious to more American men...but then not so surprised, given what has happened to our society since 1968.

Maybe President Trump could get Ron Paul to be the Secretary of Defense. That would please Uncle Ivan and his short buddy almost as much as it would our 68er constituency.

[afterhoursarmory]

Afghanistan. The way to deal with it is to just leave with a simple message. Mess with us and we nuke you. We will irradiate the country. And no, I don’t give a damn about surrounding countries; let them put the pressure on that shithole to settle down; or else.

[Jarhead9297]

Couldn’t be better said. Coming from a veterans I couldn’t agree more

[Will88]

Leave Tom Cotton where he ls.

[central_va]

Generals are for the most part political hacks. The should shut up and carry out the mission. If they disagree then disagree in private and if they can't live with the decisions of those superiors then they should QUIT LIKE MEN.

Mattis waited too long, he wanted Trump to bend to his will not the other way around. Now he has finally and mercifully resigned I am happy. Mattis was a POS .

[shelterguy]

Can that dope even explain coherently what “finish the job” means?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I think it means stay there forever, give them billions of dollars per year, let all their worst people relocate to the USA and then give it back to the enemy.

[Old Teufel Hunden]

"Define the "job". Define what makes it "complete"."

Absolutely

1. Complete the mission of supporting the Kurds in wiping out ISIS. The last reports that I have read are that they control a small swath of land near the Euphrates river. Once that pocket of resistance is wiped out, that mission can be considered completed.

2. These Russia/Iran/Turkey/Syria negotiations are completed. At the end of this, when Iran pulls its troops out and we get assurances from Turkey that our allies the Kurds will not be harmed. This means that Turkey would have to pull out of Northern Syria.

Once these conditions are met, we should pull our troops back to either Iraq or Kuwait. Don't fool yourself, they are not coming home as in the good ole' U.S.A. They are on deployment and will pull back and come back home after their deployment.

[Alberta's Child]

A general might do a fine job of prosecuting a war.

Your average general might be the worst person on the planet when it comes to determining whether or not that war is a good idea.

[yldstrk]

It is a great idea to get the hell out of the middle east and defend our own real estate.

[central_va]

How is it we agree about something?

[Old Teufel Hunden]

Semper Fi Jarhead!!

[Alberta's Child]

LOL. Because the planets are aligned in a certain way for the first time in 500 years?

[DoodleDawg]

I would say Keane would be the front runner since he’s the Fox News analyst.

[petitfour]

The excuse for going into Iraq and then spreading the war was that we wanted to take the war to them rather than have to fight it on our own soil. All the while, millions and millions of foreigners have been allowed to invade our country. The invasion needs to end.

[marajade]

He said yesterday on Martha McCallum’s show he wouldn’t take it.

[yldstrk]

We gain nothing militarily by being there. Just expensive bullshit. We are not going to win hearts and minds or any other such caca. We need to get the hell out. Yes, I was an Army officer.

[familyop]

West freaked out in Iraq and was relieved of his command.

[Jarhead9297]

Mattis is a distinguished fellow devil dog and an honorable man more so than ANY person in Washington. The line about Generals being political is tiring. Every single person on this earth is political in their careers in one way or another. Almost every single person is jockeying for a leg up in their careers. Generals and line soldiers aren’t just your runnif the mill dummies who should “shut up” and get in line. That may have been the case some decades ago that got thousands killed but today each offers some insight to any ensuing battle. Could be something large or something small but it is a thinking military across all ranks not mindless zombies.

Presidents and politicians are just that politicians and some are leaders. Good leaders listen to those they put in charge and those with FAR FAR more experience in global affairs and war. Your logic is akin to walking into a hospital and the surgeon tell you you need an immediate operation which you totally discredit and go with the nurses opinion of no operation well because the doctor is only in it for the money