While
“Mad Dog” Mattis was by no means a “hero,” it is almost a
given that his replacement will be far more pro-war and
pro-intervention than the outgoing secretary of defense.
by
Whitney Webb
Part
3 - Neocon darling Keane in pole position?
Media
reports have cited John Keane – sometimes referred to by his
nickname “Jack” — as Mattis’ most likely replacement, which
should concern anyone wary of U.S. military escalation in the Middle
East. Keane, a frequent commentator on FOX News, has been described
by former CIA analyst Ray McGovern as “the go-to general for the
neoconservatives,” which is unsurprising given his close
association with the influential neoconservative “Kagan clan”
that includes Fred Kagan, Robert Kagan and their wives Kimberly Kagan
and Victoria Nuland.
One of
Keane’s many connections to the Kagans is the document “Choosing
Victory: A Plan for Success in Iraq,” which Keane co-authored with
Frederick Kagan and was used as the blueprint for the Bush
administration’s failed 2007 “troop surge” in Iraq. In
addition, Keane is the current chairman of the Institute for the
Study of War (ISW), which was founded by Fred Kagan’s wife,
Kimberely, and was formerly chaired by Liz Cheney, daughter of former
Vice President Dick Cheney.
As noted
by Consortium News in 2012, ISW is funded by major weapons
manufacturers and military contractors such as “General
Dynamics, Northrop Grumman and CACI, as well as lesser-known firms
such as DynCorp International, which provides training for Afghan
police [and has been accused of child trafficking in Afghanistan and
Kosovo as well as “enslaving” American workers], and Palantir, a
technology company founded with the backing of the CIA’s
venture-capital arm, In-Q-Tel. Palantir supplies software to U.S.
military intelligence in Afghanistan.” This may
explain why Keane is an enthusiastic supporter of the 17-year-long
war in that country.
Indeed,
Keane’s policy positions notably benefit many of the weapons makers
and contractors that fund the group he chairs. A committed “Iran
hawk,” Keane had championed the U.S.’ withdrawal from the Iran
deal and has called Iranians “thugs and killers” intent on
“acquiring nuclear weapons.” He is also a strong supporter
of the administration’s current aggressive Iran policy, including
regime change.
Keane
has called Iran “our number-one strategic enemy in the world”
and, in 2011, promoted a plan for regime change in Iran involving
“covert operations led by the CIA” and giving “money,
information, and encouragement to the dissident leaders inside Iran
to use their population to put pressure on the regime,” which
bears striking resemblance to the White House’s current Iran
policy.
The
retired general is also very pro-Israel when it comes to foreign
policy. For instance, Keane claimed last December that the Trump
administration’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s
capital would “help” peace negotiations between Israel and
Palestine. Then, this past February, Keane stated that war between
Israel and Syria/Iran was “inevitable.”
In the
case of Syria, where Trump recently announced an “immediate”
troop withdrawal, Keane has repeatedly called for the U.S. to
directly enter the Syrian conflict, to arm “the right [Syrian]
rebels with anti-aircraft weapons,” and target Syrian military
sites with “limited airstrikes.” He has also championed
attacking Syrian “ground forces,” and called for a
forceful overthrow of the Syrian government and the establishment of
a no-fly zone over Syria. He has also advocated for a permanent U.S.
military presence in the country.
Furthermore,
if appointed to head the Pentagon, Keane would likely support
increased troop deployments to places like Afghanistan (a war he
still supports) and elsewhere, given that he has been touted as the
“mastermind” behind the Bush administration’s 2007 troop
“surge” in Iraq.
If that
is not enough, Keane is also a “Russia hawk” and was one of the
main propagators of the claim made last year that Russia was
funneling weapons through Iran to the Taliban in Afghanistan in order
to “weaken popular support for the U.S. efforts in Afghanistan,
hoping the United States will give up and ‘go home.’” In
other words, a lack of domestic support for the U.S. occupation of
Afghanistan is, in Keane’s view, Russia’s fault.
Keane
has also called on Trump to “call out and confront”
Russian President Vladimir Putin and has accused Putin and the
Russian government of using “political information warfare.”
Keane also stated in March that Russia “is becoming considerably
more dangerous.”
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