Alarm sounded

National security under threat

The historic resignation of Secretary of Defense James Mattis was not just another pre-Christmas crisis in the perpetual pandemonium of the Donald Trump presidency. The Mattis resignation removed the last senior official in the administration who would defend the critical international relationships and alliances that have ensured U.S. national security since 1945.

Trump will do what he always does when snared in a problem—divert attention and bury the facts until the national media focus moves on. But national security policy is too important to ignore without serious consideration of the consequences.

The Mattis letter of resignation describes a deep divide between the president and the secretary of defense on fundamental national security policy.

The letter is an articulate rebuke of the president’s unilateralist approach to national security and a warning to the nation about the damage to America’s international leadership and to the nation’s future security caused by the policies of the Trump administration.

The Mattis letter makes two primary points about U.S. national security.

The first is a fundamental statement of support for U.S. relationships with critical allies and security alliances now under attack by the current president.

Mattis recognizes that for decades the U.S. has functioned best in confronting international security challenges when it upheld its national values and acted within a coalition of strong and committed democratic nations. The U.S. has other important, even vital, relationships in the world, but none are as critical to the nation’s security as the bond with the democracies in Europe and elsewhere that share American democratic values. In that regard, the strongest security coalition for the U.S. is with Canada and the major European democracies committed to NATO.

The second major point in the Mattis letter is a clear definition of friends and adversaries.

As Mattis point out, there should be no confusion today about who are America’s friends and who are the nation’s adversaries. Russia, China and other authoritarian governments opposed to democracy around the world are the primary security threats to the United States. This is a direct rebuttal of the Trump administration’s failure to confront Russian attacks on U.S. elections and democracy in Europe and elsewhere.