iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — James Mattis, the retired Marine general who is Donald Trump’s nominee to be the next defense secretary, began testifying at his confirmation hearing Thursday morning before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Highly respected by members of Congress, the one-time four-star general is viewed as the least controversial Trump cabinet nominee and it is expected that his confirmation will move quickly through the Senate.
In his prepared remarks, Mattis called civilian control of the military “a fundamental tenet of the American military tradition.”
“I recognize my potential civilian role differs in essence and in substance from my former role in uniform,” he said. If Congress passes an exemption to the seven-year requirement, “I will provide strong civilian leadership of military plans and decisions,” he added.
Mattis said his priorities as defense secretary would be “to strengthen military readiness, strengthen our alliances in league with our diplomatic partners and bring business reforms to the Department of Defense.”
Moreover, he would “work to make sure our strategy and military calculus are employed to reinforce traditional tools of diplomacy, ensuring our President and our diplomats negotiate from a position of strength.”
“We must embrace our international alliances and security partnerships,” Mattis stressed. “History is clear: nations with strong allies thrive and those without them wither.”
“It would be the highest honor, if I am confirmed, to lead those who volunteer to defend our country,” he concluded.
Both houses of Congress will also have to pass legislation that exempts Mattis, 66, from the legal barrier that prevents former members of the military from serving as defense secretary unless seven years have passed from the time they left military service. Mattis retired from the Marine Corps in 2013 after a 41-year career.
That exemption has raised concerns from Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York, who believes a waiver of the legal requirement goes against the spirit of civilian control of the military.
“Civilian control of our military is a fundamental principle of American democracy, and I will not vote for an exception to this rule,” Gillibrand said in a statement in December shortly after Mattis was nominated to be the next defense secretary.
The legal restriction was enacted in the National Security Act of 1947 that created the Defense Department. A waiver has only been granted once, in 1950, to retired General George Marshall as he moved from his position as Secretary of State to become the Defense Secretary under the Truman administration.
At a committee hearing on Tuesday to discuss civilian control of the military, national security experts expressed support for the waiver citing Mattis’ experience and knowledge.
Eliot A. Cohen, a former high-ranking official at the State Department during the George W. Bush administration, told the committee that Mattis “would be a stabilizing and moderating force, preventing wildly stupid, dangerous, or illegal things from happening, and over time, helping us to steer foreign and security policy in a sound and sensible direction.”
When he retired from the Marine Corps in 2013, Mattis was the commander of U.S. Central Command overseeing all American troops in the Middle East and with responsibility for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. That culminated a career with significant experience as a battlefield commander in Iraq during the Persian Gulf War and the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He was also in command of Marine forces in 2004 during both battles for Fallujah.
Along with Army General David Petraeus, Mattis co-authored the military’s counterinsurgency strategy that helped turn the insurgent tide in Iraq in 2007.
Mattis favors a tough stance on Iran, in remarks in April to a Washington think tank he cited Iran as “the single most enduring threat to stability and peace in the Middle East.”
In the same speech, he criticized Barack Obama’s administration for being naive about Teheran’s intentions in agreeing to the Iranian nuclear deal. But he was at odds with those who favor scrapping the deal. “We are going to have to recognize that we have an imperfect arms control agreement,” he said. “What we achieved was a nuclear pause, not a nuclear halt. We’re going to have to plan for the worst.”
Trump often refers to Mattis by the nickname of “Mad Dog” that describes his tenacity on and off the battlefield.
But he is also known as the “Warrior Monk,” a nickname that refers to his singular focus on military history, tactics and strategy, traits along with his unmarried status.
Mattis is also known for blunt comments he has made about the nature of war that have sometimes raised eyebrows.
In February 2005, Mattis was “counseled” by the Marine Corps Commandant for public comments he had made about fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan. “You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn’t wear a veil. You know, guys like that ain’t got no manhood left anyway,” Mattis had said at an event.
“So it’s a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them. Actually, it’s a lot of fun to fight. You know, it’s a hell of a hoot. It’s fun to shoot some people. I’ll be right up front with you. I like brawling.”
Marine Commandant Gen. Mike Hagee said Mattis agreed that “he should have chosen his words more carefully.” Hagee added in a statement, “While I understand that some people may take issue with the comments made by him, I also know he intended to reflect the unfortunate and harsh realities of war. Lt. Gen. Mattis often speaks with a great deal of candor.”
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