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| First Big Test for Mattis: Pitch Plans to Fight ISIS and Not Alienate Trump | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| WASHINGTON — As Defense Secretary Jim Mattis prepares to submit his first big pitch to his new boss — options for accelerating the fight against the Islamic State — he is balancing the need to rein in President Trump’s more extreme impulses without distancing himself too much and losing White House favor. | WASHINGTON — As Defense Secretary Jim Mattis prepares to submit his first big pitch to his new boss — options for accelerating the fight against the Islamic State — he is balancing the need to rein in President Trump’s more extreme impulses without distancing himself too much and losing White House favor. |
| Mr. Mattis, a retired Marine general, has already assumed an outsize role in the administration — part valued aide to the new president, who has quickly come to adore him, and part reassurer in chief to global leaders, who cling to his every utterance in the hope that he will help keep the White House from undoing decades of national security policy. | Mr. Mattis, a retired Marine general, has already assumed an outsize role in the administration — part valued aide to the new president, who has quickly come to adore him, and part reassurer in chief to global leaders, who cling to his every utterance in the hope that he will help keep the White House from undoing decades of national security policy. |
| Nowhere is this juggling act clearer than in the decisions confronting Mr. Mattis about speeding the fight against the Islamic State. Mr. Trump made that fight a centerpiece of his national security strategy during the campaign, saying he would give his generals 30 days to produce a plan to defeat the group, and he has urged an alliance with Russia to combat the militants in Syria. But such a move is anathema to Mr. Mattis, who has said repeatedly that he does not view Russia as a trustworthy partner. | Nowhere is this juggling act clearer than in the decisions confronting Mr. Mattis about speeding the fight against the Islamic State. Mr. Trump made that fight a centerpiece of his national security strategy during the campaign, saying he would give his generals 30 days to produce a plan to defeat the group, and he has urged an alliance with Russia to combat the militants in Syria. But such a move is anathema to Mr. Mattis, who has said repeatedly that he does not view Russia as a trustworthy partner. |
| For all of Mr. Trump’s bombast about the fight against the Islamic State — he said as a candidate that he would “bomb the hell” out of the militants, “take out” their families and “take the oil” — Pentagon leaders said they were preparing more nuanced options. | For all of Mr. Trump’s bombast about the fight against the Islamic State — he said as a candidate that he would “bomb the hell” out of the militants, “take out” their families and “take the oil” — Pentagon leaders said they were preparing more nuanced options. |
| Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, suggested last week that the initial plan may extend beyond the Islamic State strongholds in Iraq and Syria and that it may look at how the militant group rose to power in the first place, and how to fight its ideology. | Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, suggested last week that the initial plan may extend beyond the Islamic State strongholds in Iraq and Syria and that it may look at how the militant group rose to power in the first place, and how to fight its ideology. |
| “This is not about Syria and Iraq,” General Dunford said at the Brookings Institution in Washington. | “This is not about Syria and Iraq,” General Dunford said at the Brookings Institution in Washington. |
| The Islamic State, he noted, at one point numbered 45,000 foreign fighters from more than 100 countries. “Our plan, to be successful, needs to, No. 1, cut the connective tissue between regional groups that now form a transregional threat.” | The Islamic State, he noted, at one point numbered 45,000 foreign fighters from more than 100 countries. “Our plan, to be successful, needs to, No. 1, cut the connective tissue between regional groups that now form a transregional threat.” |
| Mr. Mattis will probably present Mr. Trump a range of options that include loosening some battlefield restrictions and allowing American troops to get closer to the fight. He may also recommend putting a limited number of additional troops on the ground in Syria. | Mr. Mattis will probably present Mr. Trump a range of options that include loosening some battlefield restrictions and allowing American troops to get closer to the fight. He may also recommend putting a limited number of additional troops on the ground in Syria. |
| But Pentagon officials said there was little appetite in the Defense Department for a full-fledged American military mission in Syria that would include thousands of additional combat troops. Any such move could leave the United States responsible for picking up the pieces after a defeat of the Islamic State. | But Pentagon officials said there was little appetite in the Defense Department for a full-fledged American military mission in Syria that would include thousands of additional combat troops. Any such move could leave the United States responsible for picking up the pieces after a defeat of the Islamic State. |
| General Dunford said the Pentagon’s goal was to outline the options for dealing with the Islamic State while at the same time making clear “the risks associated with each one.” | General Dunford said the Pentagon’s goal was to outline the options for dealing with the Islamic State while at the same time making clear “the risks associated with each one.” |
| With the firing of Michael T. Flynn as national security adviser and the arrival of Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster in his place, Mr. Mattis’s hand has been strengthened in the national security structure. Like Mr. Mattis, General McMaster has no previous links to Mr. Trump and is not seen as being driven by ideology, which could not be said about Mr. Flynn. | With the firing of Michael T. Flynn as national security adviser and the arrival of Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster in his place, Mr. Mattis’s hand has been strengthened in the national security structure. Like Mr. Mattis, General McMaster has no previous links to Mr. Trump and is not seen as being driven by ideology, which could not be said about Mr. Flynn. |
| A battle-tested veteran of the Persian Gulf war of 1991 and the Iraq war, General McMaster, like Mr. Mattis, is considered to be one of the military’s most independent-minded officers. | A battle-tested veteran of the Persian Gulf war of 1991 and the Iraq war, General McMaster, like Mr. Mattis, is considered to be one of the military’s most independent-minded officers. |
| After Mr. Trump’s first choice — Robert S. Harward, a retired vice admiral who is a former Navy SEAL — declined the national security adviser job, Mr. Mattis encouraged General McMaster to take it, turning what could have been a disastrous turn of events for him into a success. | After Mr. Trump’s first choice — Robert S. Harward, a retired vice admiral who is a former Navy SEAL — declined the national security adviser job, Mr. Mattis encouraged General McMaster to take it, turning what could have been a disastrous turn of events for him into a success. |
| Inside the Pentagon, civilian and military officials appear to be relishing the fact that, so far, Mr. Mattis has protected them from many of the ups and downs coming out of the White House. | Inside the Pentagon, civilian and military officials appear to be relishing the fact that, so far, Mr. Mattis has protected them from many of the ups and downs coming out of the White House. |
| During a recent talk with policy officials at the Defense Department, Mr. Mattis told people to stay strong and keep going in the right direction — in many cases, largely the direction that they had already been going, according to a former senior military official who speaks frequently to his former colleagues. The former official said Mr. Mattis appeared to be pushing for greater expertise in the Pentagon and had asked officials not to change jobs so frequently that they are not able to become true experts. | During a recent talk with policy officials at the Defense Department, Mr. Mattis told people to stay strong and keep going in the right direction — in many cases, largely the direction that they had already been going, according to a former senior military official who speaks frequently to his former colleagues. The former official said Mr. Mattis appeared to be pushing for greater expertise in the Pentagon and had asked officials not to change jobs so frequently that they are not able to become true experts. |
| An avid reader, Mr. Mattis also says he wants the Defense Department’s regional desks to be able to think the way people in their respective countries would think, officials said. He wants military officials to have read the literature of the country in which they specialize and to really understand the countries, not just the issues that affect bilateral relations with the United States. | An avid reader, Mr. Mattis also says he wants the Defense Department’s regional desks to be able to think the way people in their respective countries would think, officials said. He wants military officials to have read the literature of the country in which they specialize and to really understand the countries, not just the issues that affect bilateral relations with the United States. |
| At the Pentagon last week, Mr. Mattis showed up unannounced and without aides in the Middle East policy office to ask a question of one of the desk officers. | At the Pentagon last week, Mr. Mattis showed up unannounced and without aides in the Middle East policy office to ask a question of one of the desk officers. |
| He has already been on two overseas diplomatic missions in the month since Mr. Trump took power. He went to Asia, where he reassured South Korean and Japanese officials that, contrary to Mr. Trump’s campaign musings that they should perhaps develop their own nuclear weapons to save the United States money that it now spends to protect them, the United States was not going to abandon decades of nonproliferation policy. | He has already been on two overseas diplomatic missions in the month since Mr. Trump took power. He went to Asia, where he reassured South Korean and Japanese officials that, contrary to Mr. Trump’s campaign musings that they should perhaps develop their own nuclear weapons to save the United States money that it now spends to protect them, the United States was not going to abandon decades of nonproliferation policy. |
| He went to Europe, where he reassured nations that, contrary to Mr. Trump’s postcampaign musings that NATO was “obsolete,” the United States still valued the trans-Atlantic alliance. | He went to Europe, where he reassured nations that, contrary to Mr. Trump’s postcampaign musings that NATO was “obsolete,” the United States still valued the trans-Atlantic alliance. |
| And he went to Iraq, saying before arriving in Baghdad that, contrary to Mr. Trump’s musings, “We’re not in Iraq to seize anybody’s oil.” | And he went to Iraq, saying before arriving in Baghdad that, contrary to Mr. Trump’s musings, “We’re not in Iraq to seize anybody’s oil.” |
| Some Defense Department officials privately expressed concern about whether Mr. Mattis, in reassuring American allies, might alienate the White House. | Some Defense Department officials privately expressed concern about whether Mr. Mattis, in reassuring American allies, might alienate the White House. |