Civilian control is fundamental
Civilian control of our military is a core principle of U.S. democracy. It’s not a casual requirement, to be imposed only if it’s convenient — it’s fundamental.
The law says no one can serve as secretary of Defense until at least seven years have passed since he left military service. Marine Gen. James “Mad Dog” Mattis retired from the military in 2013.
Arguably, Mattis never really left the military. He spent the years since on the board of General Dynamics, one of the largest U.S. military manufacturers, profiting directly from the same wars he left behind.
Further, Mattis earned his four stars in the Marine Corps — whose slogan is “once a Marine, always a Marine.” That’s their line, not mine.
Mattis may well have useful leadership skills. But as secretary of Defense, he won’t be leading troops into battle. He'll be managing the 3 million-plus employees of the Pentagon, the nation’s largest bureaucracy.
And unlike many former generals, who return from battle saying they never want to fight another war, Mattis says he loves fighting and killing. He told Iraqi leaders, “If you f--with me I’ll kill you all.” He said fighting the Taliban is “a hell of a hoot” and added, “It’s fun to shoot some people.”
With Gen. Mattis and others in command, the U.S. military has been at war with terror for 15 years — and terrorism is doing just fine. Mattis’ bravado makes for memorable sound bites, but it’s not going to dig us out of the hole we’ve dug with our overreliance on military force.
Mattis might be more willing than others to stand up to a dangerously unaccountable Trump. He has already disagreed with Trump on Iran, and his views on Israel are usefully nuanced. That’s all good.
Even so, we need to scale back our reliance on bullets and bombs. We, and the Constitution, need a secretary of Defense who’s much further away from them. Mattis remains a just-retired Marine Corps general. We remain, for the moment, a democracy committed to civilian control of our military. That’s a principle, not just a suggestion.