Politics
‘Should’ve Fired Him Sooner’: Trump Rips Mattis, Who Hopes Biden Will Ditch ‘America First’ Policy
Taking to Twitter, Trump called Mattis the “world’s most overrated general.”
Penned by Max Gorbachev at Sputnik
James Mattis served under Trump from 2017 to 2019. He resigned in protest against the president’s decision to withdraw US troops from Syria. Earlier this year he launched a scathing attack on Trump calling him a threat to the US Constitution.
US President Donald Trump has criticised former Defence Secretary James Mattis after he expressed hope that Democrat Joe Biden, who is the projected winner of the 2020 presidential election, will eliminate the America First idea from US national security policy. Taking to Twitter, Trump called Mattis the “world’s most overrated general” and said he should have fired him sooner.
In an op-ed published on 23 November in the magazine Foreign Affairs, Mattis wrote that the policy adopted by Donald Trump had a detrimental effect on the country and highlighted the importance of US partnerships and alliances.
The article titled “Defence in Depth” was сo-written by Joe Felter, a fellow at the Hoover Institution, Kori Schake, director of foreign and defence policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute and Jim Ellis, a fellow at the Hoover Institution and former commander of US Strategic Command.
“The United States today is undermining the foundations of an international order manifestly advantageous to US interests, reflecting a basic ignorance of the extent to which both robust alliances and international institutions provide vital strategic depth. In practice, ‘America first’ has meant ‘America alone’. That has damaged the country’s ability to address problems before they reach US territory and has thus compounded the danger emergent threats pose”, the four authors wrote.
They also emphasised the necessity of investing in relationship with allies, saying that despite its military might the United States is unable to protect itself and its interests on its own.
“International engagement allows the United States to see and act at a distance, as threats are gathering, rather than waiting for them to assume proportions that ultimately make them much costlier and more dangerous to defeat”, Mattis wrote together with his co-authors, adding that Washington should resist the temptation to maximiae US gains at the expense of nations that share its objectives.
With Us or Against Us
According to the four authors, China is the principal threat that the United States faces today, noting that Beijing is the only challenger that could potentially undermine the American way of life. At the same time, they stressed that Washington’s goal is not only to “deter great-power war”, but to “seek great-power peace and cooperation in advancing shared interests”. In order to achieve this the United States has to maintain relationships with its historic allies, in particular with Australia, Japan, and South Korea, as well as strengthen relations with other nations like India, Indonesia, and Vietnam, which, the authors say, share US interests “in maintaining a free and open region”.
The most important thing, however, is to shift away from the motto “with us or against us” and forcing countries to choose between Beijing and Washington, the four authors wrote.
“A ‘with us or against us’ approach plays to China’s advantage, because the economic prosperity of US allies and partners hinges on strong trade and investment relationships with Beijing. Rather than treating countries as pawns in a great-power competition, a better approach would emphasise common codes of behaviour and encourage states to publicly promulgate a vision for their country’s sovereign future and the types of partnerships they need to pursue it”, read the op-ed.
Mattis and his co-authors stressed that although cooperating with China in key areas will be difficult, it is necessary, saying “there should be opportunities” to collaborate in areas where interests overlap such as climate change, coronavirus response, and nuclear security.
They Treat Us Fairly
While the idea of America First gained prominence during the first part of the 20th century it is Donald Trump who made the policy resonate across the globe. Since the start of his presidential endeavour the businessman-turned-politician has repeatedly stated that US allies treat Washington unfairly – from trade to NATO member states’ defence spending. Trump did not hesitate to back up his words with actions and withdrew the United States from a number of international agreements. Although his actions were praised by his supporters, America’s allies were far from enthusiastic about the Republican’s moves. The mainstream media has harshly criticised Trump’s America First policy, which it said alienates Washington’s allies and results in US isolation.
Defence Secretary James Mattis served under Trump from 2017 until 2019 when he resigned in protest over the president’s decision to pull US troops from Syria. It is reported that after failing to persuade Trump to reconsider he submitted his resignation, in which he reportedly criticised the president’s foreign policy.
Unlike other former members of the Trump administration, he refused to criticise Trump publicly, rarely taking jabs at the Republican. However, this summer Mattis changed his tune, harshly criticising the administration’s response to large-scale protests against racial discrimination and called Trump a threat to the US Constitution.
“Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people — does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us”, Mattis said in June.
Trump, who previously called Mattis an overrated general, said he fired the official, because he was no good for him or former President Barack Obama.
Politics
Biden Wants To Give Separated Illegal Immigrants $450,000 Per Person
The average amount sought through the courts is roughly $3.4 million per family, according to the report.
The Biden administration is mulling a plan to offer immigrant families separated during the Trump administration $450,000 per person in compensation, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter.
The payments – part of an inter-agency solution to several lawsuits filed on behalf of separated parents and children claiming lasting psychological trauma could amount to nearly $1 million per family, though ‘the final numbers could shift,’ according to the report.
According to sources, most of the families crossing into the US from Mexico included one parent and one child. Depending on circumstances, many families could get smaller payouts.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which represents families in one of the lawsuits, has identified about 5,500 children separated at the border over the course of the Trump administration, citing figures provided to it by the government. The number of families eligible under the potential settlement is expected to be smaller, the people said, as government officials aren’t sure how many will come forward. Around 940 claims have so far been filed by the families, the people said. -WSJ
In total, the potential payout could reach $1 billion or more.
Throughout the Trump administration, thousands of children were separated from their parents (and coyotes paid to bring them into the country) after they had crossed illegally into the country from Mexico. The lawsuits allege some of the children suffered various ailments – including malnutrition, heat exhaustion, and were kept in freezing cold rooms with little medical attention. Some claim lasting mental health problems due to the trauma of being without their parents for several months.
The average amount sought through the courts is roughly $3.4 million per family, according to the report.
“President Biden has agreed that the family separation policy is a historic moral stain on our nation that must be fully remedied,” said ACLU deputy director, Lee Gelernt. “That remedy must include not only meaningful monetary compensation, but a pathway to remain in the country.”
Senate Republicans slammed the plan on Thursday afternoon following the WSJ‘s report.
“The Biden administration’s promises of citizenship and entitlement programs have already caused the worst border crisis in history—a huge cash reward will make it even worse,” said Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR).
The discussions about the payouts have taken place over the past few months among a group of dozens of private lawyers representing the families and government lawyers. Some government lawyers have viewed the payouts as excessive for people who had violated the law by crossing the border, the people said. One government lawyer threatened to remove his name from the case out of disagreement with the potential settlement offer, the people said. -WSJ
“It is a complicated, complex piece of litigation” – trying to resolve hundreds of separate lawsuits at the same time, and “sometimes even more complex to try the cases” said Margo Schlanger, who ran the civil-rights office during the Obama administration at the Department of Homeland Security and now teaches at the University of Michigan law school.
What will the reparations crowd think of this?
Politics
White House To America: ‘We’re Coming Door To Door…With Shots!’
Will CDC soon recommend a nation-wide re-count of Covid deaths?
White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said at the daily press conference yesterday that President Biden’s strategy to get everyone a Covid shot – whether they want it or not – is to start going “door-to-door” to those not yet jabbed. So…they have a list? Also today: bomb-maker Raytheon goes “woke.” Capitol Hill Cops set up shop in California. Will CDC soon recommend a nation-wide re-count of Covid deaths?
Politics
Half A Million Illegals Crossed Since Harris Named Border ‘Czar’
By the time June’s figures are reported in the coming days, the combined number is expected to be over half a million, more than the entire population of Miami, Florida or Cleveland, Ohio.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection figures, around 500,000 illegal immigrants have crossed the southern border since Kamala Harris was named border ‘czar’.
The Washington Free Beacon reported the findings, noting that only three months has passed since Harris took on the responsibility, and that the half a million figure is just those that have been apprehended.
The CBP says around 180,000 immigrants are being caught per month. In April agents arrested 178,854 illegal immigrants, the highest monthly figure for 21 years. That figure was then surpassed in May as agents apprehended 180,034 illegals.
By the time June’s figures are reported in the coming days, the combined number is expected to be over half a million, more than the entire population of Miami, Florida or Cleveland, Ohio.
Harris only bothered to visit the border when President Trump announced he was making a trip. Even then Harris visited El Paso, some 1000 miles away from where the crisis is taking place.
Previous to this, Harris lied and claimed she had been to the border, telling NBC’s Lester Holt “This whole thing about the border. We’ve been to the border. We’ve been to the border.”
When Holt pushed back and said she had not, Harris snapped “I—and I haven’t been to Europe. And I mean, I don’t—I don’t understand the point that you’re making,” then again laughed maniacally:
On Tuesday, Republican Senator Ron Johnson argued that Harris’ trip to El Paso was designed to distract the media and keep them away from the real crisis hit areas of the border.
“They took her to a point in the border where she wouldn’t see the crisis and so the press wouldn’t report on the crisis,” Johnson said.
The Senator added, “You just simply can’t understand what this administration is doing. We literally are apprehending now about 6,000 people per day. That’s I mean, that’s a large caravan every day being processed, some of them being returned, others are being dispersed. But this crisis is not going away. It’s just under everybody’s radar because the press isn’t covering it.”
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