Is The Trump Administration Already Over? — Paul Craig Roberts

Hopes for the Trump administration are not burning brightly.
Trump’s military chief, Gen. Mattis, is turning out to be true to his “mad dog” nickname. He has just declared that Iran “is the single biggest state sponsor of terrorism in the world.” sputniknews.com... He has declared Russia to be the number one threat to the US.

He has threatened intervention in China’s territorial affairs. I was wrong.
I thought Gen. Mattis was a reasonable choice as he rejects the efficacy of torture, and, according to Trump, convinced Trump that “torture doesn’t work.” Apparently Mattis cannot reach beyond this realization to higher geo-political realizations. Trump needs to fire Mattis who has placed the Pentagon in the way of normal relations with Russia

I'm thinking back to Last week's threadl with Bannon, being named as the point man on national security - is this the reason why ?
Trump needs to 'normalize' realtions with Putin, Mattis is undermining things a wee bit.

(skipping forwards to avoid drift, but there are many many good points raised re : The middle east)

We are also hearing from Mattis and from Tillerson threats to intervene in China’s sphere of influence. Trump’s appointees appear to be unable to understand that there can be no improvement in relations with Russia if the Trump regime has Iran and China in its crosshairs.

And yet both Mattis and Trump are at this (From Mattis' Confirmation hearingfrom Mattiis' confirmation hearing) :

Trump has angered Beijing by speaking with the Taiwanese president and threatening high tariffs on Chinese goods. Mattis has had relatively little experience with China, and in 2015 Senate testimony called for a “parallel” policy of positive relations and “counterbalanc[ing]” Beijing’s naval buildup in the South China Sea.

In conclusion :

The Trump administration needs to present a different Washington to the world.

It's a highly Bowdlerised version of the article, if anyone is into PCR, check it out.
I've only stayed with the pertinent points re Mattis, because it's evident that he seems to go off message (because his agenda is/was national security and nothing else)

Or is he trying to smooth things out :
...will defense secretary Mattis keep Trump on a leash?

After less than a week on the job, Mattis walked through the Pentagon press corps bullpen with a message: call him Jim. “Enough of this Mad Dog business,” paraphrased Military Times reporter Andrew DeGrandpre. The correction needed no explicit rebuke of Trump to convey its message.

Whatever mad dog Trump thinks Mattis to be, Mattis’ first week at the Pentagon showed him gripping the leash from the other end.
Mattis set out to assure traditional US allies that Trump’s harsh assessments of them are not the final word from Washington.
In a flurry of calls to his counterparts, Mattis has sent signals that he is both a traditional Atlanticist and an anchor of stability serving an unpredictable president.

That doesn't seem at all to chime with Trump's Tweets, soundbites and general position

Not everyone, however, thinks Mattis is walking Trump back. “It’s clear that General Mattis will be given a relatively free hand in running the Department of Defense,” said Jack Keane, a retired US army general who played a leading role in designing the 2007-08 Iraq troop surge and who has advised Hillary Clinton.

Mattis, Keane said, was “doing things that a secretary would normally do, like when he assumes his duties and calls his counterparts around the world and reassures them that this administration intends to continue to support their allies”. “I don’t think it’s a reining-in so much as President Trump relying on his judgment,” he said.

It seems to me that we're going to be hearing about conflicts of interest betwwen what a State Dept needs to do and say (through need) and things that the president thinks.

This must surely lead to people leaving or being 'asked' to leave.

How long before Mattis is gone ?

Edit to add : is this a sign of things to come : a disconnect between Trump's ideals clashing with real politik, his own nominees and their capacity to deliver to both audiences (Home and abroad) ...something at some point will have to give.

So we went to Trump is a Russian puppet to Trumps being to hard on Russia.

MAKE UP YOUR MINDS.

Can't have it both ways.

a reply to: neo96
I like coffee and i like tea ...both preferences are valable

originally posted by: Damiel
a reply to: neo96
I like coffee and i like tea ...both preferences are valable

Coffee is not tea and tea is not coffee.

originally posted by: Xcathdra

originally posted by: Damiel
a reply to: neo96
I like coffee and i like tea ...both preferences are valable

Coffee is not tea and tea is not coffee.

Xcathdra! Glad you're back. Its never over till its over.

If the main stream press have their way, the sooner the better. Trump declared war the day he called CNN fake news on live TV.

a reply to: Xcathdra
No they're not, you're quite right, caffeine and tannin are not the same molicules in tea and coffee, well done!

However, back on topic, what does it say to the world and US partners when two administration heads have conflicting positions ?

'Russia is good' Vs 'Russia is a threat'

Who wins out ?
The pres or his nominated DoD ?

a reply to: Damiel

Trump stated time and again he does not want yes men in his cabinet. Trump supports torture and Mattis does not. Trump stated he would defer to his Sec. Def on the issue because he is the expert in that field.

Why would this be any different?

Whilst PCR is pretty much scathing, on the same idea The Graun has other ideas

Trump may have actually boxed himself in by picking highly respected generals such as Kelly and Mattis to helm top posts in his administration.

Even conservatives who publicly stand by the president latch on to the appointments of Mattis and Kelly as their best evidence that Trump’s presidency will not be as problematic as his temperament and actions sometimes suggest, or some of his more troubling White House advisers portend.

But if Mattis or Kelly were to resign in protest, that might change everything.

Not only for Nat. Sec, there's a risk that others could resign - the whole vetting/confirmation procedures will be thrown into dissaray, the office of the state will be hamstrung until new officers are sworn in.

It's not there yet, but there is a real possibilty.

originally posted by: neo96
So we went to Trump is a Russian puppet to Trumps being to hard on Russia.

MAKE UP YOUR MINDS.

Can't have it both ways.

Its Trump who is giving us the mix messages. He is the one hiring people who say strikingly different things than he says such as the UN envoy and the Sec of Def. Your complaints should be directed at your hero Trump.

a reply to: Xcathdra
That's not actually the issue here - do you complain about your spouse in public ?

It's bad for PR for your foreign 'counterparts' to hear one minute we want to be doing deals, the next, to be told you're a threat to national security...

Which mouthpiece do you take in trust ?
The Pres or his Representative ?


*No insult intended*

It’s good that Paul Craig Roberts is seeing the light now. He was one of the people who were heralding Trump as some kind of hero who defeated the NWO.

What a joke!
Trump is a freightening upgrade of The deep state elitists or NWO globalists monstrous and sinister plots

Now PCR is seeing things again as they really are. This is good because before Trump fooled him as he fooled many, Roberts was one of the best oped writers.

The idea that Trump was something new was and is ridiculous.

Trump is a puppet of the deep state elitists as ALL US presidents are, in-fact he is worse!


He is a puppet of a particularly evil faction of the deep state.

"" Is The Trump Administration Already Over? — Paul Craig Roberts ""

Not by a longshot.

The Administration is just getting started.

They are doing a good job of keeping the opposition triggered and guessing.

a reply to: Willtell

Get ahold of yourself man, your losing it!


Trump is certainly something new.

Well Trump said the US needs to be unpredictable. That's what happening here. He's confusing the hell out of everyone. He's doing the good cop/bad cop routine with NATO to force countries to reach the military spending guideline of 2%, which is reasonable.
Even Ukraine won't be left behind, it seems. Sanctions on Russia won't be lifted because of Crimea. It's funny, because the russians and the pro-Kremlin trolls, who celebrated Trump's victory are now choking. Now they want Mattis gone
When it comes to China, they can't be given a pass on building those artificial islands in the international waters. It's not even a question of who wants to be friends with who.
And Iran... Did anyone expect a different approach from a republican administration?..

a reply to: Damiel

Ever hear of "good cop, bad cop"?

a reply to: burgerbuddy

Well, the good cop/bad cop routine usually has a common goal...

Oh right, i see !
Trump is getting on board with Mattis' message Trump agrees to honour 'One China' policy despite threats