While on the campaign trail, President-elect Donald Trump often
asserted that “torture
works.” But one meeting with legendary Marine Gen. James
Mattis appears to have made him rethink that stance. On Saturday, Trump met with the retired four-star general at the
real-estate mogul’s Bedminster, New Jersey, golf course
for about an hour to discuss the possibility Mattis could be
tapped to serve as defense secretary.
Details about the private conversation are hard to come by,
but Trump did reveal an interesting bit
Tuesday to reporters at The New York Times when asked about
waterboarding.
From The Times:
“‘He said, “I’ve never found it to be useful,”‘ Mr. Trump said,
describing the general’s view of torturing terrorism suspects. He
added that Mr. Mattis found more value in building trust and
rewarding cooperation with terror suspects: ‘”Give me a pack of
cigarettes and a couple of beers and I’ll do better.”‘
“‘I was very impressed by that answer.’
“Torture, he said, is ‘not going to make the kind of a difference
that a lot of people are thinking.'”
It amounts to a “remarkable” reversal for the president-elect, as
The Times put it. It also somewhat contradicts the position of
Trump’s national security adviser, retired Lt. Gen. Michael
Flynn, who has said “all options are on the table.”
Before he campaigned for Trump, however, Flynn criticized the practice.
If Trump has indeed changed his tune on the use of torture,
that’s good news to numerous national-security experts
who expressed concerns in light of Trump’s election win.
“I don’t think it’s going to come back,” Tom Nichols, a professor
at the Naval War College speaking of his personal views, said
recently. “But that’s more hope than anything else.”
Mattis appears
to be the frontrunner for the job of defense secretary. Trump
told The Times he was “seriously considering” the retired officer
for the position.
Waterboarding as an interrogation method today would have a
higher legal barrier than what President George W. Bush faced.
While Bush authorized the practice through legal memos after the
September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, President Barack Obama
ordered the practice to stop through an executive order. That
order
was later codified into law in 2015.
Gen. Joe Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
said in March that the use of waterboarding was “inconsistent
with the values of our nation.” Dunford previously served as
Mattis’ deputy at 1st Marine Division.
