Donald Trump pointedly drove to the Pentagon on Friday to close U.S. borders to refugees from around the world; to block families indefinitely fleeing the slaughter in Syria; and to suspend immigration from seven Muslim countries. With Secretary of Defense James Mattis smiling over his shoulder, Trump established a religious test for refugees from Muslim countries and ordered that Christians and others from minority religions would be granted priority over Muslims. During his confirmation hearings, General Mattis spoke with great feeling about his opposition to such moves and explained that the coalition to stop international terrorism would be weakened by any attempt to target and demonize Muslims.
As a result, the mainstream media almost unanimously opined that Mattis would be a leavening influence, a source of moderation, inside the Trump administration. A “Mad Dog” Mattis would consider resignation, however; a cat’s paw would stay in place. This was the kind of decision that Secretary of State Colin Powell, a retired general, faced in the fall of 2002, when the Bush administration decided on the war that he correctly opposed. Like a loyal general officer, Powell put on his three-piece and lied to the United Nations in February 2003 about why it was necessary to invade Iraq. Just another cat’s paw.
Behind the confusion and chaos of the Muslim ban, there were additional steps taken by the Trump administration that will…