Splitting From Trump, Defense Pick Mattis Slams Russia, Supports Iran Deal

Foreign Policy

"Like other cabinet nominees, retired Marine Gen. James Mattis differs from his soon-to-be boss on some of the biggest issues that will face the Pentagon."

 

"Retired Marine Gen. James Mattis, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to become the next secretary of defense, staked out sharply divergent views from those of his potential boss on Thursday, strongly backing NATO, lambasting Russia, and accepting the Iran nuclear deal. "He also showed little appetite for rolling back a slate of Defense Department social reforms hated by the Republican Party. 

"Most pointedly, Mattis offered lawmakers in Congress a full-throated endorsement of the NATO alliance, countering months of campaign-trail rhetoric from Trump, who suggested the United States gains little from the alliance and carries too much of the burden. 

“ 'If we did not have NATO today, we would need to create it. It is vital to the United States,” Mattis told a Senate panel, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin — long an object of Trump’s praise and his hopeful dance partner on the global stage — is “trying to break the North Atlantic alliance.” . . .

Mattis does support living up to our word on the Iran deal, I would hardly call his so-called "support" for it an endorsement:

Although Trump has long said he would renegotiate or pull out of the Iran deal completely, Mattis said it’s important for the United States to live up to its agreement. “When America gives [its] word, we have to live up to it and work with our allies,” he told the panel, admitting that the current deal isn’t one he would have signed off on. 

Mattis is much less naive than Obama on this and was once fired by that president because the General was such a war hawk regarding Iran:

Obama Fires Top General Without Even a Phone Call

President Barack Obama fired General James Mattis, the head of Central Command, without even calling the general to let him know he was being replaced.