Anti-Neocon
12-04-2016, 09:05 PM
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/12/james-mattis-iran-secretary-of-defense-214500
It’s a situation that could lead to disagreement within the Pentagon over the next four years—but also, senior Pentagon officials fear, to war.
Then, Mattis linked Iran to the rise of ISIS. “I consider ISIS nothing more than an excuse for Iran to continue its mischief,” he said. “Iran is not an enemy of ISIS; they have a lot to gain from the turmoil that ISIS creates.” What Mattis said next was eerily reminiscent of George W. Bush’s claim that because Al Qaeda wasn’t attacking Saddam Hussein, the two must be linked: “I would just point out one question for you to look into,” Mattis intoned. “What is the one country in the Middle East that has not been attacked by ISIS? One. That is Iran. That is more than happenstance, I’m sure.”
But others worry that he might be to eager to get into a fight. “Back when he was Centcom commander,” the senior Marine officer says, “Jim was really focused on Iran, and was well aware that any kind of confrontation with them could easily spin out of control. He once did a study of it, and completely shut down Navy officers who told him the Iranian military was no match for the Americans. He just rejected that. Totally. Which is why I find his later comments, in which he seemed to be picking a fight with them, almost inexplicable. But there it is—that’s the danger. It’s Beirut and Iraq, really.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-zoPgv_nYg
It’s a situation that could lead to disagreement within the Pentagon over the next four years—but also, senior Pentagon officials fear, to war.
Then, Mattis linked Iran to the rise of ISIS. “I consider ISIS nothing more than an excuse for Iran to continue its mischief,” he said. “Iran is not an enemy of ISIS; they have a lot to gain from the turmoil that ISIS creates.” What Mattis said next was eerily reminiscent of George W. Bush’s claim that because Al Qaeda wasn’t attacking Saddam Hussein, the two must be linked: “I would just point out one question for you to look into,” Mattis intoned. “What is the one country in the Middle East that has not been attacked by ISIS? One. That is Iran. That is more than happenstance, I’m sure.”
But others worry that he might be to eager to get into a fight. “Back when he was Centcom commander,” the senior Marine officer says, “Jim was really focused on Iran, and was well aware that any kind of confrontation with them could easily spin out of control. He once did a study of it, and completely shut down Navy officers who told him the Iranian military was no match for the Americans. He just rejected that. Totally. Which is why I find his later comments, in which he seemed to be picking a fight with them, almost inexplicable. But there it is—that’s the danger. It’s Beirut and Iraq, really.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-zoPgv_nYg