And Now Mattis

Soon to be "the former", Secretary of Defense James Mattis.

When I wrote this yesterday, and teed it up to run this morning, I had no idea how bizarre events were going to turn over the day in terms of Trump Administration resignations.

What's the deal with Ryan Zinke?

The Trump Administration has become such a revolving door that I've really lost track of what's going on with it.  People come and go, are hired and fired, with such rapidity that a person would have to be a political fan in the extreme, right or left, to keep up with it.

So many figures have resigned from the Trump Administration it's become a bit of a stunner to realize that some figures have been there all along, and have done a good job in the opinion of most.

One such figure is Secretary of Defense James Mattis.

Mattis was a former Marine Corps general with a reputation for toughness.  He is a traditionalist in terms of his military views, as most Marine Corps officers, at least up until recently, have been.  For that reason he drew some opposition in his confirmation as it was feared that he'd roll things back in terms of women in combat roles, which I sincerely wish he had done.

Instead it seems he spent much of his time trying to moderate and back down Donald Trump wackier ideas.  Well, he's had enough of that.

This past week the President declared victory in Syria and announced a troop withdrawal and he's been hinting that he'll pull troops out of Afghanistan.  Both are major mistakes and Mattis has taken the Napoleonic officer option of resigning rather than putting up with it.

As readers here know, I never thought getting into Syria was a good idea, but we entered in a small and specialized way anyhow and frankly, it's worked really well.  Getting out now flatly hands everything over to the Russians who are allied with the Syrian government, the latter of which is allied with Iran.

A person could perhaps debate on Syria, although this seems clearly to be giving up on the military progress we've made there and hand things over to the Russians. But the way its come about is a bit of a shocker.  Trump has claimed that the Russians are upset to see us go.  Not hardly.  On at least on one occasion American troops engaged a Russian unit in combat, and roundly defeated it.  Handing Syria completely over to the Russians makes Hashemite Syria a species of Russian satellite and a frightening Iranian ally, given the way things have gone.  When you get into a war, pulling out this way is tantamount to a surrender.

Frankly, the way it has come about, moreover, pours gasoline on the fire of Trump's connection with the Russians.  It's very difficult not to wonder about a President who seems to be slouching towards impeachment due to dealings involving the Russians when he takes an action that so benefits their goals in the Middle East.

Pulling out of Afghanistan, moreover, is a major military mistake. There's serious belief at the present time that a negotiated end to the war there is in sight.  This will torpedo that and leave the country most probably in the grips of a Taliban victory, sooner or later, and probably sooner. 

Mattis is the first Secretary of Defense to resign in protest in American history.  He's far from the first member of the Trump Administration to resign, however.  His resignation is a stunning act and its intended to be.

This Administration is in crisis.  Perhaps ironically, the best thing that could happen for the Republican Party right now would be for Mueller to confirm in some fashion the worst, and bring thing to a head in the House of Representatives.