I noticed something disturbing at Gen. Mattis’ confirmation hearing. Did you spot it?

By Allen B. West

Yesterday I watched with great interest the Senate confirmation hearing for General James Mattis, along with that of Rep. Mike Pompeo, both nominated respectively for SecDef and Director of the CIA. I listened not just for the questions, but more towards the general theme and trend.

What I ascertained, especially from the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, was that it was all about two things — creating space between Mattis and President-elect Trump and preserving an ideological agenda. And most of the liberal media articles written featured the former, those areas of perceived dissent of General Mattis from the Trump line.

But it didn’t take long for the second point to rear its ugly head.

As reported by Military.com, “Defense Secretary Ashton Carter made the case Tuesday for retaining the current policy in the military that opens up all jobs to women, including in combat roles. “

I can’t talk to the next administration” and “I can’t comment on anything that might happen in future,” Carter said, but he made clear his belief that President-elect Donald Trump and retired Marine Gen. James Mattis, Trump’s choice for Defense Secretary, would be making a mistake if they sought to change the policy. 

As he has previously, Carter said that keeping all jobs open to women who meet standards and qualify was essential to recruiting and retention in modern society. “What matters for future of the all-volunteer force is that we emphasize, attract and retain the most qualified people who can meet our standards” regardless of sex, Carter said.

“It is important, it is essential to the excellence of our military that we put foremost the ability of an individual to do the job,” he said. Carter was joined by Joint Chiefs Chairman Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford at what was his last Pentagon news conference as Defense Secretary.

In his previous post as Marine Corps commandant, Dunford, who will remain chairman in the next administration, recommended that some combat positions be kept closed to women and he pointedly did not attend Carter’s announcement of his decision to scrap the combat exclusion rule. Rescinding or revising the Pentagon’s personnel policies on women and transgender troops would not require new legislation. The next defense secretary will have authority to change the policies and only needs to notify Congress 30 days in advance.”

What the progressive socialist left fails to comprehend is that these ideological agendas of social engineering and egalitarianism in our military are an example of what led to their election defeat. And their inquiry during these hearings did not provide the desired return on investment.

As a matter of fact, General Mattis knows very well that women have served in combat since the days of ol’ “Molly Pitcher” at the Battle of Monmouth. However, there was no firm committal by the future SecDef on fielding females into ground combat units, especially Special Operations formations.

And for all the talk of meeting standards — well, there are still some unanswered questions about the females who graduated Army Ranger School, but simply put, we still have two different physical fitness evaluation standards.

As well, we recently shared here the story about obesity in the military, and some of you were shocked to know that females are allowed up to 36 percent body fat. We also shared a story about the Marines assigning three females into an Infantry battalion in the 8th Marine Regiment at Camp Lejeune, but they also have three additional female Marine “mentors” outside the designated chain of command. That doesn’t represent a equitable standard.

It’s rather disingenuous of the outgoing SecDef, nuclear scientist Ash Carter, to say the future of the all-volunteer force depends on attracting and retaining the most qualified people who can meet our standards, “regardless of sex.” We all know there are rigorous standards even some males can’t achieve for these combat duty positions. What is vital for the future of our military is a vision for victory and a dedication to the readiness of our force, not the implementation of an agenda.

The American people don’t think favorably of taxpayer-funded sex change operations for individuals suffering from a mental condition termed, “gender dysphoria.” There’s an actual rumor that outgoing President Barack Obama may commute the sentence of Chelsea Manning. The problem with that is the U.S. Army sentenced Private Bradley Manning to prison for his leaking of classified information, Chelsea Manning was never enlisted, and was certainly not tried and sentenced for the aforementioned crimes. However, if Obama does follow through with this, and the Army continues to recognize the disturbed state of mind of this Soldier, this is what the American people want to see ended.

Americans are tired of militant islamic terrorism, the proliferation of the global islamic jihad, and the threats of Iran. Americans see the despotic expansionism of Russia, China, and North Korea, and they want a strong, credible deterrent that will stand on freedom’s rampart and say “this we’ll defend.”

Americans want to “sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.” Only those more concerned with social “fairness” believe it’s important to focus elsewhere. Our military must regain its vision of recruiting, training, equipping, deploying, deterring, fighting when necessary — and winning. And the past eight years have not been about those foundational principles and the tried and true mission of our military. This isn’t about green energy. It’s not about civilian control of the military, but rather experienced leadership that knows what it means to stand in a memorial service in a combat zone.

I find it certifiably hilarious that our first president, General George Washington, didn’t need a waiver. And as a true servant of God and country, without any official mandate, he stepped down after eight years because it was about three points — service, sacrifice, and commitment…not to himself, but to a set of principles and values which embody our Constitutional Republic. Actually, once upon a time, this nation wouldn’t consider you for president if you hadn’t served in uniform.

In the end, there will be no daylight between President Trump and his Cabinet because they’re individuals capable of thinking and articulating varying perspectives. They will not be, as the last eight years, a gathering of yes men and women who simply did what they were told and repeated talking points.

But, the real lesson to be learned from this first round of confirmation hearings is that the progressive socialist left — which owns the Democrat Party — is a collection of intransigent ideologues who’ve clearly lost their connection with America. They keep digging themselves into a hole, and producing shovels in order to accomplish that task.

The dream of the liberal progressive left and Obama of the fundamental transformation of America is not going to happen, and we’re watching them go absolutely apoplectic…in other words, nuts.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *