Why The General Should Not Be In Charge Of Foreign Policy

Our fearless leader announced that we should not worry about foreign policy because he has turned it over to General Mattis.  Many will feel relieved that a president who refuses to read intelligence briefings is not in charge of foreign policy.  This article explains why it is harmful to put a competent and well meaning general in charge of foreign policy.  This well reasoned argument is summarized by the following quote from the article:

Once again, I respect Mattis and am glad that he’s there. But let’s not pretend that his leadership can substitute for the void in the White House, the absence of strategy, tactics and rational thought in the foreign policy apparatus in the Trump administration.

Applebaum understands how good foreign policy decisions are made and how mistakes have been made, for example in Iraq, when the Defense Department was placed in charge of the occupation.