The former secretary of defense who offered up his resignation amid a difference of opinion battle with President Trump on Syria carefully indicated that there would come a day when he will speak freely about his experience working with Trump.
In an interview published in the Atlantic on Thursday, Mattis said he owed the Trump administration “silence,” telling the interviewer he adheres to a French adage — “devoir de réserve,” the “duty of silence” — in order to protect the President from any harm.
“The duty of silence. If you leave an administration, you owe some silence. When you leave an administration over clear policy differences, you need to give the people who are still there as much opportunity as possible to defend the country. They still have the responsibility of protecting this great big experiment of ours,” he said. “I know the malevolence some people feel for this country, and we have to give the people who are protecting us some time to carry out their duties without me adding my criticism to the cacophony that is right now so poisonous.”
Later on in the interview, which took place over the course of the summer, ahead of the release of his new book, “Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead,” Mattis made it clear that he has no intention of staying quiet on President Trump and his tumultuous time in the administration forever.
“There is a period in which I owe my silence,” he said. “It’s not eternal. It’s not going to be forever.”
Right, you are going to wait until it isn’t going to make any difference.
Until the country is a heap of burning rubble, THEN he’ll speak out.
You think you owe silence, better to keep all the crazy buried. Who will give one rip when you decide to not be silent in the years to come.
PS Good luck with your book sales that won’t be telling it like it is.
Fuck you and your republican silence. You took an oath to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Spineless.
Cowardice before country. The only thing necessary for triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing.