FLASHBACK: Barack Obama Was Blasted by Not One, but Three of His Former Secretaries of Defense

PJ Media ^ | 06/05/2020 | Matt Margolis

[SeekAndFind]

I cringed after Donald Trump started trashing James Mattis following his resignation as Secretary of Defense. Mattis’s departure was reportedly connected to Trump’s announced withdrawal from Syria, which Mattis opposed. In response to Mattis’s departure, rather than praise him for his service and acknowledge the tremendous progress they’d made together cleaning up the mess left by Obama, Trump trashed Mattis as “the world’s most overrated general.”

Mattis wasn’t the only person Trump kicked out the door with a litany of attacks. He lambasted former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson as “dumb as a rock,” and described his former chief of staff, John Kelly, as being “in over his head.” Any loyalty these men and others felt toward Trump was effectively destroyed, opening Trump to criticism from these very men looking to restore their reputations after being attacked by the most powerful man in the world.

Mattis coming out to attack Trump was inevitable, as was the media onslaught in response to Mattis’s criticisms.

Slate even described the attack as “unprecedented.” I’m sure others will echo this description, eager to present Trump as unique amongst other presidents by being criticized by a former secretary of defense. Except that this is hardly unique at all. Barack Obama was blasted by not just one, but three of his former secretaries of defense.

Robert Gates

Obama’s first secretary of defense, Robert Gates, resigned without incident in 2011, but would later criticize Obama’s role as commander in chief in his memoir published a few years later. It revealed a troubled relationship between Obama and the Pentagon:

… Gates – who was first appointed to his post by former President George W Bush – reveals, in a series of swipes that are surprisingly combative coming from such a senior former official,

[SeekAndFind]

The other two former Defense Secretaries who blasted Obama were:

LEON PANETTA and CHUCK HAGEL

[Ann Archy]

LOL!!

[LeonardFMason]

“Mattis wasn’t the only person Trump kicked out the door with a litany of attacks. He lambasted former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson as “dumb as a rock,” and described his former chief of staff, John Kelly, as being “in over his head.” Any loyalty these men and others felt toward Trump was effectively destroyed, opening Trump to criticism from these very men looking to restore their reputations after being attacked by the most powerful man in the world.

Mattis coming out to attack Trump was inevitable, as was the media onslaught in response to Mattis’s criticisms.”

ANY “LOYALTY”!???

These snakes existed as deep state checks on Trump. There was NEVER any loyalty.

[Nateman]

Gorka left but has stayed loyal. This is why millions listen to his radio show.

[SeekAndFind]

Panetta also wrote a memoir revealing disturbing details about his time in the Obama administration, and told of Obama’s repeated decisions to ignore his advice, citing specifically “the withdrawal of all troops from Iraq in 2011, the failure to intervene in Syria’s civil war by arming rebels and the abrupt reversal of Mr. Obama’s decision to strike Syria in retaliation for using chemical weapons on civilians.”

As For Chuck Hagel, He said in an interview a year later after he resigned, that the Obama White House tried to “destroy” him and that they had no strategy for fixing Syria. Here is an account of what he said...:

Hagel, now that time has passed and he’s willing to discuss his tenure in office, cited the episode as an example of a White House that has struggled to formulate a coherent policy on Syria, holding interminable meetings that would often end without a decision, even as conditions on the ground worsened and the death toll grew steadily higher. The 69-year-old former Nebraska senator and Vietnam War veteran, speaking for the first time about his treatment by the Obama administration, said the Pentagon was subject to debilitating meddling and micromanagement by the White House — echoing criticism made by his predecessors, Robert Gates and Leon Panetta.

Looking back on his tenure, Hagel said in the Dec. 10 interview that he remains puzzled as to why some administration officials sought to “destroy” him personally in his final days in office, castigating him in anonymous comments to newspapers even after he had handed in his resignation.

Although he does not identify her by name, Hagel’s criticisms are clearly aimed at Obama’s national security advisor, Susan Rice, and some of her staff. Hagel’s former aides, and former White House officials, say the defense secretary frequently butted heads with Rice over Syria policy and the U.S. military prison at Guantánamo.

[SeekAndFind]

RE: Gorka left but has stayed loyal. This is why millions listen to his radio show.

I hear him on drive time here in NY. I wonder how his radio show ranks out there vs. Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity ....

[yoe]

[jjotto]

Gorka’s audience isn’t in the same league. Last year, his talk show was #27 in the Talkers’ Heavy Hundred.

http://www.talkers.com/2019-talkers-heavy-hundred-1-25/

[Old Retired Army Guy]

“Overrated General”???? Having spent many many years in Uniform and sons doing the same, one learns that rising in the general Officer ranks is for the most part Political. Officers selected for and promoted in the General Officer Ranks must be nominated and approved by Politicians. Therefore, if one aspires to become and advance as a General Officer they must by the very nature of the system become a political animal and play ball with Politicians and their staffers. A lot of good and exceedingly good Lieutenant Colonels and Colonels decide to retire rather than enter into the Political Arena. Until the system is changed, don’t be surprised to see Some Current and perhaps many more former General Officers making Political statements. It’s a damn shame, but that is the way it is.

[SeekAndFind]

RE: Gorka’s audience isn’t in the same league. Last year, his talk show was #27 in the Talkers’ Heavy Hundred.

Considering that his show is very recent, I’d say it isn’t bad at all.

[KavMan]

Mattis is a DEMOCRAT! I'm OUT when I hear DEMOCRAT!

[jjotto]

Oh yeah. Number 27 by the end of 2019 after starting in January 2019 is exceptional.

But guys like Rush and Hannity get into the 10-15 million listener range. Gorka is maybe 1-2 million. But note that these days, podcasts are a big deal, and Gorka does well there too.

[SunkenCiv]

• A Look Back In Time: Gen. James Mattis is linked to a massive corporate fraud and nobody wants to talk about it
• The embarrassing nonsense of General "Mad Dog" Mattis; He tries to demonstrate his bona fides to the Resistance.
• Liberal Mush from the Mad Dog
• Is John Kelly joining the generals' mutiny? Former chief of staff calls Donald Trump 'nasty' and 'confused' over attack on Jim Mattis - and lines-up interview with Trump-hating Mooch
• Mattis 'should have picked up a couple of his history books' before denouncing Trump
• Judge Drops the Hammer on Hillary Clinton, Orders Her to Testify on Emails

[Lurkinanloomin]

The Kenyan from Indonesia was never eligible to be President under our Constitution.

He is NOT a natural born citizen.

[davidb56]

You hit the nail right on the head. All it takes is a little research on some of our “top” generals background to find out most Started out as a pencil pusher and never been within a couple miles of live fire. They sucked their way to the top....like a lot of large business CEO’s do.

[hal ogen]

He (and his enablers) should be in prison or hanged for treason.

[DoodleDawg]

I don’t recall any of them saying Obama was a threat to the Constitution, and which alone puts Mattis’s comment way over the line.

[treetopsandroofs]

Am still amazed at all the Hussein Heads here who disagree with that.

[Lurkinanloomin]

My suspicion is they can’t face the reality that our entire government, both parties, conspired to violate the Constitution.