The pick of retired Gen. James Mattis as defense secretary by Donald Trump provides hope that the Pentagon, at least, will be in stable hands.
Given that even Michèle Flournoy, who would have been in line for the job in a Clinton administration, cheered for the Marine before he got the nod on Dec. 1 should tell Democrats that while the selection may not sit well with some, it could have been far worse.
"General Mattis is a storied and much respected military leader," Flournoy told NPR's David Greene on Nov. 21. "He's a student of history. He's a strategic thinker, and he also has real passion for, you know, the care of the men and women in the U.S. military and their families. So, you know, I think he would be an outstanding candidate."
The fact that a relatively recently retired general could lead the Pentagon is something of a novelty given the US principle of civilian control of the military. Opponents in the Senate will get a chance to make their concerns heard during the upcoming confirmation hearing.
So, add another layer of complexity to the emerging Trump cabinet. While the manner in which Trump announced Mattis' selection during a speech in Cincinnati was a typically flamboyant performance of brash words — taunting Hillary Clinton and fantasizing about his "landslide" election win during the same address — the general himself seems to be more of a quiet, thoughtful guy in public.
If confirmed by the Senate, Mattis will have to face a myriad of management-related problems mostly unfamiliar to him, as anybody would who takes over an organization the size of the US military. As retired Army Col. Peter Mansoor told NPR on Dec. 2, a good deputy defense secretary is needed to help steer the ship.
Mattis appears to have scored one major victory in schooling Trump on a key reality of national security tactics, advocated by the vast majority of those who practice in the field: Torture doesn't "work," as the real-estate mogul has previously claimed.
In an interview with the New York Times, Trump said Mattis told him he would prefer "a pack of cigarettes and a couple of beers" over torture when it comes to extracting information from terror suspects.
To be sure, Trump added that the general's view didn't change his mind. "Look, we have people that are chopping off heads and drowning people in steel cages and we're not allowed to waterboard. But I'll tell you what, I was impressed by that answer," he told the newspaper, recounting Mattis' job interview last month.
There will likely be plenty more lessons to be learned from "Mad Dog" Mattis for Trump. The 66-year-old former Central Command chief comes with a deep understanding of the messiness of war, appreciating the burden of committing Americans to battle when there is fighting to be done.
It will be interesting to see how Mattis will navigate the president-elect's campaign promise of relative isolationism, given the general's deep knowledge of how entangled US security interests are with overseas affairs.
In that context, Mattis will have to play along with other national-security Cabinet members, some of which may lack his type of pragmatism and experience in favor of ideological drive.
As Flournoy pointed out: "Well, you really do have to evaluate the national security team as a team."
Sebastian Sprenger is associate editor for Europe at Defense News, reporting on the state of the defense market in the region, and on U.S.-Europe cooperation and multi-national investments in defense and global security. Previously he served as managing editor for Defense News. He is based in Cologne, Germany.
