Dallas, TX
National Center for Policy Analysis President & CEO Jim Amos released the following statement in response to President-Elect Donald J. Trump’s nomination of General James Mattis, who served with distinction for forty plus years in the Marine Corps and rose to the position of Commander of United States Central Command.
“As a well-known warrior-scholar, General James Mattis is a man who can be trusted with placing the interests of the United States of America and the Armed Forces ahead of petty politics. As a Corps Veteran myself, I understand the values imbued and taught by that hollowed institution, and General Mattis is a man who exemplifies the best of the Corps.
He is no armchair general, but a front-lines leader, who has risen to the upper echelons of the Department of Defense. He is a man who thoroughly grasps both the ins and the outs of the DoD. When General Mattis is confirmed as Secretary of Defense. America can rest a little easier at night.”
General Mattis will have a major task on his hands in reforming and rebuilding a DoD so thoroughly dismantled by the Obama administration. The NCPA has already offered recommendations on where to start:
- Trim the Pentagon bureaucracy – The growth in civilian and staff numbers continues to exceed what is necessary, while the number of general and flag officers positions has increased disproportionately to the personnel they oversee. Trump Administration Has Opportunity to Rebuild Military, Shrink Bloated Government.
- Reconsidering the scope of nation-building – The current security assistance programs are ineffective and often undermine American security. How Defense Dollars Are Wasted on Security Assistance & The Military Nation Building and Counterterrorism in Africa.
- Change the Defense budgeting process – zero-based budgeting helps identify wasteful spending, whether redundant programs or obsolete positions, and helps purge unnecessary expenses – A New Budgeting Approach for the Defense Department.
- Antiquities in Conflict – The U.S. government and the Department of Defense should give greater precedence to the protection of movable cultural heritage in wartime in order to diminish the capabilities of terrorist organizations who remain the preeminent threat to the safety and security of the United States. Antiquities and Conflict: Changing Military Strategy.
Semper Fi,
James H. Amos