James Mattis in National Public Radio


On War & Peace: U.S. should keep a small force in Iraq

In [Mattis' new book, "Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead,"] Chapter 15, entitled "Snatching Defeat From The Jaws of Victory," Mattis goes on at length about his advice that the U.S. should have kept at least a small force in Iraq rather than pull out completely in 2011. Mattis was then head of Central Command, overseeing the U.S. war efforts in Iraq. However, "beginning with President Bush and continuing through the Obama administration, the White House was set on a total troop withdrawal, for political reasons," Mattis writes. "I argued strongly that any vacuum left in our wake would be filled by Sunni terrorists and Iran."
Source: NPR Morning Edition on Trump Cabinet Sep 2, 2019

On War & Peace: U.S. should keep a small force in Syria

He left the Trump administration after the president declared that he wanted to pull U.S. forces out of Syria. Those U.S. troops helped drive the Islamic State out of the territory it once held, but Mattis and other military leaders have indicated they would like to keep at least a small force in Syria--which remains the case so far.
Source: NPR Morning Edition on Trump Cabinet Sep 2, 2019

On War & Peace: U.S. should keep a small force in Afghanistan

President Obama said in 2011 that he would draw down troops in Afghanistan (in addition to the complete withdrawal in Iraq). "I had been assigned two contradictory objectives," Mattis writes. "The forces under my command at CENTCOM were to degrade the Taliban while building up the Afghan army. They were also to withdraw on a strict timetable, independent of circumstances on the ground. We could do one or the other, but not both."
Source: NPR Morning Edition on Trump Cabinet Sep 2, 2019

The above quotations are from National Public Radio election coverage.
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