LONDON ¨C The resignation of U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis stands not only as a radical disassociation from the actions of the president he served, but as a foreboding for the future, a warning for 2019 ¡ª and beyond. And, for all the assurances that the world is getting better, such as Steven Pinker¡¯s ¡°Enlightenment Now,¡± there are huge geopolitical challenges to face and master to make that optimism real.
The key passages of Mattis¡¯ resignation letter include statements asserting that the United States cannot protect its interests or effectively serve its role as ¡°the indispensable nation in the free world¡± without maintaining strong alliances and showing respect to its allies. ¡°We must use all tools of American power to provide for the common defense, including providing effective leadership to our alliances,¡± says Mattis. ¡°It is clear that China and Russia ... want to shape a world consistent with their authoritarian model.¡±
These are implicitly harsh criticisms of Donald Trump, a U.S. president who has denigrated and insulted allies as close as Canada, Britain and Germany, and deferred to Russian President Vladimir Putin, often treating him as a friend. More, Mattis¡¯ remarks are red flags signaling the prospective collapse of the institutions and common policies of democratic states ¡ª now in increasing peril.
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