Trump Defense Chief Selection, Gen. James Mattis, Has Criticized Israeli Settlements

6
>>Follow Matzav On Whatsapp!<<

President-elect Donald Trump has announced that he would nominate retired Marine General James Mattis as his next secretary of defense.

“We are going to appoint ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis as our secretary of defense,” Trump said at a rally in Cincinnati.

Mattis, 66, is a retired four-star Marine general who served as U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) commander from 2010-2013. His nickname stems from his widely praised leadership among his fellow Marines during the Battle of Fallujah in Iraq in 2004.

Last month, when it was rumored that Mattis would be Trump’s choice for defense secretary, the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) urged the president-elect against the appointment over controversial statements Mattis has made about Israel.

At a 2013 Aspen Institute conference, Mattis said he “paid a military-security price every day as a commander of CENTCOM, because the Americans are seen as biased in support of Israel, and that moderates all the moderate Arabs who want to be with us, because they can’t come out publicly in support of people who don’t show respect for the Arab Palestinians.” Mattis also described Israel’s control over Judea and Samaria as “unsustainable” and warned that Jewish settlements would turn Israel into an “apartheid” state.

The ZOA said Mattis’s past comments “revealed a lack of appreciation for and understanding of the extraordinary value to American security resulting from a strong American-Israeli alliance and a secure Israel.” As such, ZOA President Morton Klein opposed Mattis’s rumored appointment.

But the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA) dismissed the concerns over Mattis, calling them “ill-founded and unfair.”

“On the larger U.S. military and strategic issues related to the Middle East…General Mattis has notably and indisputably distinguished himself in advocating for a more robust U.S. military posture to counter, contain and deter Iran, even at the peril of his military career,” JINSA said in a statement, adding that “General Mattis’ outlook on these issues aligns perfectly with Israel’s, which considers an aggressive Iran its greatest strategic threat, and a nuclear Iran to be an existential threat.” JNS.ORG

{Matzav.com}


6 COMMENTS

    • Israel is the United States’ most trusted and loyal ally in the Middle East. Most defense professionals realize and appreciate that. The problem with General Mattis is that instead of appreciating Israel’s contribution to United States’ global interests, he considers Israel a liability. To put it simply, General Mattis is willing to sacrifice Israel (a Genuine ally) to appease the Arab nations who will never be as loyal to the U.S, as Israel is!!!

  1. just because he is known to criticize israel now and then, it doesn’t make him anti israel or anti semitic. none of us, not even israel, are not perfect and therefore not deserving of any criticism if the particular situation warrants it. only when one constantly criticizes israel is there a reason to be suspicious of his biases. and as a reply to comment #1: why should he not have US interests in mind? he’ll be secretary of defense of the US, not israel. i’m sure mr netanyahu also has israel’s interests in mind, over the US.

  2. Always easiest to criticize Israel & its settlements (remember that includes Ramot, Nevai Yakov, Ramot Eshkol, Pisgat Zev, Betar, Kosel, Efrat, Maalei Adumin, etc.) THAN confront Arab TERROR & INCITEMENT!

  3. All this doesn’t matter if they don’t clean house at the poisoned State Department. They are such rabid anti Semites over there, no one person can make a difference. Maybe Jared can make that clear to his shver.

Leave a Reply to Memory loss Cancel reply

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here