‘Mattis appointment reinforces Zionist tilt of US foreign policy’

US President-elect Donald Trump’s selection of three war hawks to high profile positions in his upcoming administration reinforces Zionist tilt of American foreign policy, according to Professor Dennis Etler, an American political analyst who has a decades-long interest in international affairs.

Etler, a professor of Anthropology at Cabrillo College in Aptos, California, made the remarks in an interview with Press TV on Friday, a day after Trump announced that retired Marine General James Mattis, a staunch opponent of the Iran nuclear agreement, will serve as his secretary of defense.

Mattis, 66, served more than four decades in the Marine Corps. The retired four-star general, known as “Mad Dog” and the “Warrior Monk,” had been involved in several key military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

According to The Washington Post, Mattis favors a tougher stance against the countries which Washington considers its foes. He particularly holds anti-Iran views.

Speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in April, Mattis called Iran “the single most enduring threat to stability and peace in the Middle East.”

Zionist and militarist administration

Professor Etler said that Trump “has begun assembling his national security team. So far it consists of General Mike Flynn, national security adviser; Mike Pompeo (R-Kansas), CIA director; and General James Mattis, newly named as secretary of defense. The selection of these three war hawks to high profile positions in his upcoming administration gives a clear picture of the foreign policy the Trump presidency will pursue.”

“Based on the positions that these three appointees have previously taken the Trump administration will be aggressively Zionist and militarist. It will support Israel to the hilt and do everything in its power to contain and defeat Iran,” the analyst observed.

“Trump will shy away from ‘needless’ wars and concentrate instead on those wars which are in the national interests of the US. As James Woolsey, another foreign policy adviser to Trump has stated the US has to choose its wars more carefully and not be drawn into nation building,” he stated.

“Basically identify those nations that challenge US hegemony and destroy them without any need to rationalize the aggression in terms of ‘humanitarian’ neo-liberal ideology and ‘human rights’ rhetoric,” the academic said.

Reasserting US global hegemony 

“The slogans that Trump revels in such as ‘Make America Great Again’ and the Reaganite ‘Peace Through Strength’ are mere catch phrases for reasserting US global hegemony without any pretense of serving a ‘greater good.’ It's the sloganeering of war-mongering gunboat diplomacy and the rationale of might makes right,” Professor Etler explained.

“As is evidenced by decades of war and destruction conducted throughout the world, from East Asia (Korea), Southeast Asia (Vietnam), South Asia (Afghanistan), the Middle East (Iraq, Syria), North Africa (Libya), Sub-Saharan Africa (Congo, etc.), Europe (Greece) and Latin America (Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, etc., etc) the US is not interested in the welfare of the countries or people it attacks,” he noted.

“All of its pronouncements of fighting for freedom, democracy and human rights ring hollow when the consequences of its actions are taken into account. The mantra of US imperialism is ‘we have to destroy your country in order to save it!’ Save it for what? US domination and exploitation,” the commentator stated.  

Mike Pompeo, an unabashed Zionist

“So what will we get with Trump's appointments? Mike Pompeo, newly named CIA director, a member of the Congressional Tea Party caucus accuses the Obama administration of being ‘more interested in talking to our adversaries then supporting the national interests of the United States.’ That is a not so veiled reference to the Iran nuclear accords and Israeli opposition to them,” Professor Etler said.

“His website goes on to say, ‘Rest assured, I will continue to advocate for a foreign policy focused on our long-held principles of advancing freedom and justice that also upholds the national interests of the United States,’ and ‘I remain a staunch supporter of human rights and religious freedom worldwide. America must also continue to stand alongside our allies around the world—such as our democratic ally in the Middle East, Israel. The US-Israeli alliance serves as a cornerstone of international and regional security.’”

Mike Flynn, another blatant Zionist

“Mike Flynn, Trump's national security adviser, has uttered similar statements. He is another ardent supporter of Israel and arch-enemy of Iran. Like Pompeo he criticizes Obama for being ‘too weak’ and not aggressive enough in pursuing US national interests. He is also a strong proponent of wooing Russia away from its burgeoning relationship with China which he sees as an existential threat to US global hegemony,” Professor Etler said.

“Both Pompeo and Flynn are cast from the same mold. They are unabashed Zionists and war-mongers out to fight wars that are in the national interests of the US. Unlike the neo-liberals who they are replacing they are unabashed imperialists who do not shy away from bombast and vitriol.”

‘Mad Dog’ Mattis, an Islamophobe

“Into this mix, now steps ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis. Who has operational experience in Afghanistan and Iraq,” Etler said.

“Mattis is yet another Islamophobe’ who confounds Iran with Daesh (ISIL) and has no sense of geo-political reality, other than an extremely narrow view of what's in it for the US,” he explained.

“The emerging triumvirate of Mattis, Flynn and Pompeo bodes ill for the prospects of peace in the Middle East or anywhere else for that matter. What lies in store is unbridled US imperialism that can only to match by the still greater unity and solidarity of anti-imperialist forces worldwide,” the analyst concluded. 

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