President Trump Says He Would Make A Great General: Is He Right?

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President Trump had a little round table with the press during his post-break cabinet meeting. For Zero Blog Thirty, our ears turn up everytime General Mattis’ name is mentioned.

As for the parts concerning Afghanistan, I actually agree with the President. Afghanistan is a shit show with no real end in sight. I think that’s the case no matter what we do there. The ideology is just too strong for us to ever make Afghanistan some sort of American-style democracy or whateverthefuck we’re doing there. I think we should leave. In fact, we’ve talked about that a ton on ZBT. 17 years (not 19). Enough is enough. The withdraw plan is tough because we dont know what will happen when we leave. We just can’t keep sending people over there with no real plan and it feels like we’ve been doing that for a long time.

I think the shock factor this morning was because of Trump’s words that he used about General Mattis. You’d be hardpressed to find someone more respected by the military than General Mattis. For years, at least since the War on Terror started, Generals are spoken about with nothing but respect, especially by the President, whoever that may be. Like other areas usually off-limits by Presidents, Trump has no problem “going there” with critiques of generals. He’s done it twice in a few days. First Mattis and then General McCrystal and then Mattis again.

When you think about the impact that all these types of conservations have on people still serving, it must be heavy. You get to talkin about the forever wars in Iraq, Syria, and Afganistan. You wonder if what you’re doing is making an impact but then a beautiful piece of fruit falls from the sky. You can imagine brighter days.

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Imagine Trump in a military uniform flanked by 4 stars on each collar. Imagine what you know about the demeanor of men like Colin Powell, James Mattis, John Kelly, or Joseph Dunford and then think about Trump giving those briefs to Congress about the state of military affairs around the globe. To me, the answer is yes. I think he would have been a fantastic General. Firm but fair. Calm under pressure and someone who takes final responsibility for the actions of those around him because he is ultimately in charge. The ultimate example of the “buck stops here.” Exactly what you’d want when you receive your marching orders. He might have his faults but you gotta give him that, right?