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In reply to the discussion: Trump 'screamed' at national security adviser H.R. McMaster over comments to South Korea: Report [View all]politicat
(9,808 posts)There is no human source in the White House that I trust to tell the truth. Good senior officers will and do fall on the sword for the leadership, so even if Mattis himself is stating that and taking full responsibility, that may not be true.
My logic is this: Trump blames everyone else for anything that doesn't go his way, and takes credit for anything even remotely associated with him. He wanted to play with the SEALS, but when the mission turned, in his mind, it was never his idea, or his fault. Under normal circumstances, that raid would have been up for DoD or Congressional review, but we're far past normal circumstances, so it might not ever be clear how that raid came about, or who wanted or pushed it.
(My BIL served under Mattis, and I met him socially many years ago. My BIL would walk through every circle of hell for him, and I met a deeply thoughtful, insightful person who was then, and during his CENTCOM command, parsimonious with the lives he sent into battle. That raid, what we know of it, doesn't match his usual operational mode. But I couldn't tell you what doesn't match, because we're not being told.)