Ouch. Many of us were surprised when President Donald Trump launched into former US defense secretary James Mattis at his controversial meeting with Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Trump referred to him as “the world’s most overrated general” and claimed “I captured ISIS.” Mattis, who has been largely silent after his departure, delivered a body blow of a response as part of the annual Alfred E Smith Memorial Foundation dinner. Using the tradition roast format, Mattis found the perfect venue to hit Trump under the guise of humor. True to his training, the well-delivered lines aimed for critical organs. It could be worse: David Cameron just labeled Boris Johnson the “greased piglet” and meant it as a compliment in getting Brexit through Parliament.
Mattis, one of the most respected military minds in the United States, stated:
“I’m not just an overrated general. I’m the greatest, the world’s most overrated. I’m honoured to be considered that by Donald Trump because he also called Meryl Streep an overrated actress. So I guess I’m the Meryl Streep of generals, and frankly that sounds pretty good to me.”
Then he delivered the coup de grace: “I earned my spurs on the battlefield … and Donald Trump earned his spurs in a letter from a doctor” — a reference to the long questioned letter from Trump’s doctor that kept him out of the Vietnam War.
One of the reasons we were taught in the military that ‘obey the orders of the officers appointed over me’ did not include those who had turned against their country.
Mattis belongs in prison next to Bush and Cheney.
These criminal MIC war profiteers not only made a mess of the world they committed war crimes and mass murder to do it.
A million innocent Iraqis murdered for lies and profit.
Afghanistan is the largest producer of heroin on the planet thanks to USA soldiers protection of the crops.
When will these criminals be held accountable?
MCCONNEL’S OP-ED PIECE FOR WASHINGTON POST..
CAN’T BODE WELL FOR TRUMP
On the surface it sounds like a Trumper’s worst nightmare. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has written an op-ed piece for the Washington Post denouncing Trump’s treachery towards the Kurds. Said piece comes one day after Mick Mulvaney’s boneheaded news conference.
Mulvaney admitted Trump was pressuring Ukraine to find Hilary’s server, a preposterous conspiracy theory. But if that wasn’t bad enough, Mulvaney announced that the next G 7 Summit would be held at Trump’s Doral resort. Mulvaney even anticipated the shock that Trump’s audacity would garner. So he quickly advised people to “get over it”.
The chutzpah demonstrated by Trump with regards to the G 7-Doral announcement could be a bridge-too-far for even Senate Republicans. Here we have a sitting president openly steering a government contract to a business he owns. This on a week when we learned the president’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, is totally entangled with Soviet-born money bundlers.
Therefore McConnell’s op-ed piece could be the writing on the wall that says, in effect, “Mr President the time has come. We have decided to unload you before the primaries”.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/mitch-mcconnell-withdrawing-from-syria-is-a-grave-mistake/2019/10/18/c0a811a8-f1cd-11e9-89eb-ec56cd414732_story.html?hpid=hp_no-name_opinion-card-b%3Ahomepage%2Fstory-ans
“MCCONNEL’S OP-ED PIECE FOR WASHINGTON POST..”
Peter, you are delusional and need to restart your medications. Firstly you didn’t listen to what Mulvaney said and do not know the circumstances surrounding the statement so of course you continue to make ignorant statements about it. Try quoting the words in context. That helps and would help you better understand what actually occurred.
I never liked Mitch McConnell and though I agree with a lot Mitch states in his op-ed piece. However, he was dealing in generalities rather than specifics and didn’t really deal with the movement of 50 American soldiers from one location to another.
I hear a lot of complaints about Trump’s attitude towards NATO but suddenly NATO is forgotten and we are being told by these pundits that our job is to support the Kurds against our NATO allies the Turks. At the same time they forget the strategic importance of Turkey and our bases within Turkey that contain nuclear missiles. They also forget that those ~50 men that were moved are a fraction of the numbers of the Turkish forces that are local and amount to somewhere around ¾ of a million men.
Maybe those people are right in their thinking but if that is so I am waiting for them to declare war on Turkey should our troops be kept in their positions and killed or even bypassed. There are always those trying to show their manhood by acting aggressive but they do so with the lives and wealth of others.
This is a complex world so instead of shooting what little Testosterone you have into the air why not come up with an answer as to how the US should act if leaving the 50 troops in position was ignored by Turkey.
I’m amazed Prof. Turley found time to focus on Biden and another non entity…to discuss today and no
mention of the QUID PRO QUO…..the clanger of the century.!!!??????
Surely, that’s within the parameters of his expertise.
Trump is always controversial.