RI

“Mattis is the perfect deep state agent, conducting bombing campaigns for Israel and globohomo, while refusing to lift a finger to do the very thing he is sworn to do: defend the United States of America.”

George Bush may have passed over the weekend, but the neocon ideology he and his son brought to prominence is still alive and well in Washington. At the Reagan National Defense Forum, Secretary of Defense James Mattis used his keynote speech and subsequent interview with Brett Baier to advocate for an even more expansive and expensive US military, and to saber-rattle with nations all across the world.

“Moderate Dog” Mattis showed his deep state bonifides by repeatedly attacking Vladimir Putin, and perpetuating the “election hacking” myth. Mattis called Putin a “slow learner,” and claimed that the Russian president had again meddled in the midterm elections. He’s asserting this with no evidence, and using it to justify a hostile stance against the world’s second most powerful military. Like the evidence for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, we’re just supposed to trust that the warmongers have our best interests at heart.

Mattis sounded eerily similar to the Bushes in his condemnations of Russia. He slammed Putin for his “continued efforts to try to subvert democratic processes.” Here is George W. Bush explaining why September 11 happened:

They hate Democracy. They hate freedom. The Russian government is the new Taliban.

Mattis talked flippantly about deposing regimes all across the world. Under the guise of “spreading democracy,” he advocated for overthrowing leaders in Iran, Syria, and Venezuela, and increasing the American military presence anywhere that “democracy” is threatened.

This is stuff straight out of the Bush administrations. It’s the same stuff that failed miserably in Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s the same stuff that has unleashed massive destruction all around the world, breeding hate of America and facilitating mass migration into it.

Mattis critiqued the governments of other countries with a hypocritical arrogance only a neocon can possess. He criticized Russia for a “cavalier use of force,” while the US casually drops bombs in third world countries every week. He accused Russia of election meddling, when no country has done more to interfere in the governments of foreign nations than the United States. As the American public becomes increasingly dissatisfied with elected officials and the elite, he accused other governments not caring about their people.

If a government “not caring about its people” is a reason to overthrow it, then it’s time for the US military to march into Washington, not Tehran or Moscow.

Trump has said he wants to cut the defense budget by five percent. Mattis shrugged that off, and claimed that military funding is actually too low. Mattis seemed to suggest he would prefer a number closer to the peak of the Cold War, when military spending was over 50% of the budget.

So, according to Mattis, the United States should run open-ended military operations in nearly every country in the world in order to “protect our values.” What about protecting our borders? Not only does Mattis not think America should do that, he suggested that it would be illegal for the military to do so.

He reiterated the lie that the military cannot help stop the caravan due to a prohibition on the military acting as law enforcement on US soil. Defending the country from invading hordes is not a law enforcement issue. It is a national security issue. It is an embarrassment to live in a country where the secretary of defense says it is illegal for the military to stop an invasion. Mattis is the perfect deep state agent, conducting bombing campaigns for Israel and globohomo, while refusing to lift a finger to do the very thing he is sworn to do: defend the United States of America.

During the campaign, Trump showed good instincts on foreign policy. He promised to reduce needless American involvement in the Middle East and elsewhere. He claimed his “America First” policy would focus on objective interests and not nebulous concepts like freedom and spreading democracy. He even attacked the Bush family for its Middle East war failures, and claimed he wouldn’t repeat those mistakes.

But then he hired the same people to run his foreign policy. The neocon ideology lives on in the Trump administration. Because of the president’s broad authority in foreign policy, this is an area where Trump can enact his agenda without congressional or judicial approval. He just needs to surround himself with the right people.

That means finally draining Washington’s neocon swamp. He can start with Mattis.