Legendary diplomat and strategic thinker Henry Kissinger once famously quipped that “America has no permanent friends or enemies, only interests.” Sadly, in the age of the Obama administration, America has passively neglected its friends and forgotten who its enemies truly are.
This is why the reported national security Cabinet picks of the Trump administration are a promising departure from the lame legacy of foreign policy malpractice left behind by the soon departing President Obama.
It is not yet inauguration day, but the Washington national security affairs punditry is already at pains struggling to cast aspersions on President-elect Trump’s picks for top spots at the Department of Defense and intelligence community. Though not yet confirmed as the nominee for Secretary of Defense, Gen. Mattis appears to be the leading contender to become the Pentagon’s next chief. Nominating a true warrior-diplomat of Gen. Mattis’ caliber and having Gen. Flynn serving as National Security Adviser would broadcast an unmistakable message to America’s friends and foes: America is back.
It speaks volumes that there was considerable friction — particularly when it came to dealing with the Iranian threat network and its destabilizing terror activities — between Obama’s White House and Gen. Mattis while he was the Commanding General for US Central Command, the Combatant Command based in the Arabian Gulf charged with overseeing US operations and strategic cooperation in the Middle East and South Asia.
Mattis had a deep and unrivaled understanding of how the Iranian Revolutionary Guard operate. Mattis saw the international network of Iranian covert activity overseen by the Revolutionary Guard as a strategic threat to the security interests of the US and its Arab allies.
Unfortunately, the Obama administration was too deeply engrossed in the then secret negotiations with Iran on its covert nuclear program to pay much heed to the warnings of the long-term threat posed by Iran’s expanding proxies from Aden to Aleppo. In short, Gen. Mattis represents everything that the Obama administration refused to stand for. America is in need of a renewal to the commitments abroad that make it a truly exceptional — and exceptionally powerful nation. Having Gen. Mattis at the helm in the Pentagon and closely advising the incoming Trump administration will play an important role in regaining confidence amongst allies.
No doubt, for the Ayatollahs in Iran, Gen. James Mattis is their worst nightmare come to life. The ripples in the tide of history are generated by men whose deeds and potential are often not fully appreciated at the time in which they live. President Obama’s defense of his foreign policy legacy rests upon the ostensible belief that the deal brokered with Iran would somehow make America and its allies safe. War was averted, they told us. But experienced operators like Gen. Mattis know better than to fall for that canard. The general once offered sage advice to his troops that policymakers ought to take heart. He said, “No war is over until the enemy says it’s over. We may think it over, we may declare it over, but in fact, the enemy gets a vote.” And Tehran’s expeditionary force for terror is doing just that.
The Iran deal has allowed billions of dollars to freshly infuse its forces. Violence in Syria is at an unprecedented level with Revolutionary Guard commanders deployed on the frontlines; at Iran’s behest Houthi militia has escalated its attacks in Yemen; and in Iraq, Iran’s militias operate with total impunity.
In his landmark speech at Al-Azhar University in 2009, President Obama pledged to seek “a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world, one based on mutual interest and mutual respect.”
He failed spectacularly in that endeavor. In geopolitics, there can be no mutual respect when one has a leader that allows mutual adversaries such as Iran to so nakedly disrespect the international order. President Obama’s lofty rhetoric, while commendable, was never matched with action.
But it seems that in this new era, the men of action, such as Gen. Mattis and Gen. Flynn, whom the Obama administration was quietly hostile to, are making a comeback. Let us hope they correct the mistakes of their former commander in chief.
• Oubai Shahbandar is a former Department of Defense senior adviser and currently a strategic communications consultant specializing in Middle Eastern and Gulf Affairs.
This is why the reported national security Cabinet picks of the Trump administration are a promising departure from the lame legacy of foreign policy malpractice left behind by the soon departing President Obama.
It is not yet inauguration day, but the Washington national security affairs punditry is already at pains struggling to cast aspersions on President-elect Trump’s picks for top spots at the Department of Defense and intelligence community. Though not yet confirmed as the nominee for Secretary of Defense, Gen. Mattis appears to be the leading contender to become the Pentagon’s next chief. Nominating a true warrior-diplomat of Gen. Mattis’ caliber and having Gen. Flynn serving as National Security Adviser would broadcast an unmistakable message to America’s friends and foes: America is back.
It speaks volumes that there was considerable friction — particularly when it came to dealing with the Iranian threat network and its destabilizing terror activities — between Obama’s White House and Gen. Mattis while he was the Commanding General for US Central Command, the Combatant Command based in the Arabian Gulf charged with overseeing US operations and strategic cooperation in the Middle East and South Asia.
Mattis had a deep and unrivaled understanding of how the Iranian Revolutionary Guard operate. Mattis saw the international network of Iranian covert activity overseen by the Revolutionary Guard as a strategic threat to the security interests of the US and its Arab allies.
Unfortunately, the Obama administration was too deeply engrossed in the then secret negotiations with Iran on its covert nuclear program to pay much heed to the warnings of the long-term threat posed by Iran’s expanding proxies from Aden to Aleppo. In short, Gen. Mattis represents everything that the Obama administration refused to stand for. America is in need of a renewal to the commitments abroad that make it a truly exceptional — and exceptionally powerful nation. Having Gen. Mattis at the helm in the Pentagon and closely advising the incoming Trump administration will play an important role in regaining confidence amongst allies.
No doubt, for the Ayatollahs in Iran, Gen. James Mattis is their worst nightmare come to life. The ripples in the tide of history are generated by men whose deeds and potential are often not fully appreciated at the time in which they live. President Obama’s defense of his foreign policy legacy rests upon the ostensible belief that the deal brokered with Iran would somehow make America and its allies safe. War was averted, they told us. But experienced operators like Gen. Mattis know better than to fall for that canard. The general once offered sage advice to his troops that policymakers ought to take heart. He said, “No war is over until the enemy says it’s over. We may think it over, we may declare it over, but in fact, the enemy gets a vote.” And Tehran’s expeditionary force for terror is doing just that.
The Iran deal has allowed billions of dollars to freshly infuse its forces. Violence in Syria is at an unprecedented level with Revolutionary Guard commanders deployed on the frontlines; at Iran’s behest Houthi militia has escalated its attacks in Yemen; and in Iraq, Iran’s militias operate with total impunity.
In his landmark speech at Al-Azhar University in 2009, President Obama pledged to seek “a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world, one based on mutual interest and mutual respect.”
He failed spectacularly in that endeavor. In geopolitics, there can be no mutual respect when one has a leader that allows mutual adversaries such as Iran to so nakedly disrespect the international order. President Obama’s lofty rhetoric, while commendable, was never matched with action.
But it seems that in this new era, the men of action, such as Gen. Mattis and Gen. Flynn, whom the Obama administration was quietly hostile to, are making a comeback. Let us hope they correct the mistakes of their former commander in chief.
• Oubai Shahbandar is a former Department of Defense senior adviser and currently a strategic communications consultant specializing in Middle Eastern and Gulf Affairs.
