When President-elect Donald Trump announced that James N. Mattis was his choice to lead the Department of Defense, what seemed to delight him most was the retired general’s Iraq war nickname: “Mad Dog.”“Mad Dog Mattis!” Trump told a post-election rally. Trump needs Cabinet officers who are willing to stand up to him and push back when he’s wrong. But if Trump chose Mattis for his mad-dog reputation, he made a good choice for the wrong reason. This is an extraordinary case for a different reason: Trump needs Cabinet officers who are willing to stand up to him and push back when he’s wrong. When Mad Dog Mattis tells Trump that blowing up the Iran nuclear agreement, weakening alliances, bombing civilians or reinstating torture is a bad idea, the boss might actually listen.

Source: Los Angeles Times December 04, 2016 12:00 UTC