International security

National security after Mattis should alarm Americans of all political parties

The Mattis letter makes two primary points about U.S. national security.

The first is a fundamental statement of support for U.S. relationships with critical allies and security alliances now under attack by the current president.

Mattis recognizes that for decades the U.S. has functioned best in confronting international security challenges when it upheld its national values and acted within a coalition of strong and committed democratic nations. The U.S. has other important, even vital, relationships in the world, but none are as critical to the nation’s security as the bond with the democracies in Europe and elsewhere that share American democratic values. In that regard, the strongest security coalition for the U.S. is with Canada and the major European democracies committed to NATO.

The second major point in the Mattis letter is a clear definition of friends and adversaries.

As Mattis point out, there should be no confusion today about who are America’s friends and who are the nation’s adversaries. Russia, China and other authoritarian governments opposed to democracy around the world are the primary security threats to the United States. This is a direct rebuttal of the Trump administration’s failure to confront Russian attacks on U.S. elections and democracy in Europe and elsewhere.