I like Mattis. For the job of planning an invasion, or planning the rebuilding of the military, he is a good one.
I have expected Trump to replace him, though, at some point, so I’m not surprised. Especially since the debacle at the border, where Mattis made it plain he did not support Trump’s position, I have expected him to go.
But at every step I have sensed that Mattis was not on board. When Trump was confronting NK, with Iran, Mattis always seemed to be uncomfortable with it. And while he did an excellent job of dispatching ISIS, he didn’t seem to agree with Trump’s refusal to support the Al Qaeda “Syrian rebels”.
“I like Mattis. For the job of planning an invasion, or planning the rebuilding of the military, he is a good one.”
Gen. Tommy Frank’s planned the takedown of Iraq. Mattis was pretty junior during the initial takedown of Afghanistan - which again was a SOCOM plan using some Marine Recon assets. Mattis had more to do with the passification of Anbar province, I think.