I agree in principle with what @JeffreyGoldberg writes about Sec. Mattis here. We’re heading into more dangerous waters with a convinced Trumper, whoever that turns out to be, running the Defense Department. A word, though. theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…
There are allies, and allies. The allies America has in Western Europe, and Japan are longtime friends, and partners in shared institutions. We may disagree from time to time, but they are reliable. It will always comport with American interests for us to be reliable as well.
Mattis understands that. He also grasps the importance of not putting at mortal risk other allies who sacrifice on behalf of American causes, like the Kurds of Syria and Iraq. But Saudi Arabia and the UAE present a different case. If Mattis understood that he gave no sign.
Many of us are concerned about the bad outcomes that could follow from Mattis being gone from the Pentagon. But for the people of Yemen the worst outcome has already happened, and it happened in large part because Mattis was there.
It’s fair to object the American relationship with Gulf Arab states is now a product of unnatural factors like Saudi purchases of Trump-owned properties and patronage of Trump-owned businesses. But it is also a product of the conviction that Iran is a major threat...
...instead of a regional nuisance. Mattis shared that conviction, and followed it to the extent of letting the Saudi government enlist American military participation in a war against civilians in Yemen, because the Saudis claimed they were battling Iran’s proxies.
Mattis didn’t even insist the Saudis pay for the fuel they were given to refuel their bombers. He allowed Riyadh to determine the course of US policy, contributing to a human disaster of massive proportions that serves no conceivable American interest.
Saudi Arabia, with its homicidal crown prince, is not Canada or Germany. Mattis, preoccupied with Iran and perhaps seizing a chance to pursue a policy to which Trump would not object, chose at every stage not to make the distinction. Hundreds of thousands of Yemenis...
...with whom the United States had no quarrel paid a gruesome price for Mattis’ choice. For all the praise he has gotten — much of it deserved — this also is part of his record as Secretary of Defense. [end]
