Can Shanahan?

Patrick Shanahan is likely to be America’s next defence secretary

The former Boeing executive brings corporate experience, but little else, to the Pentagon

PATRICK SHANAHAN has made little on mark on the Pentagon during his two years as deputy defence secretary and then acting secretary following James Mattis’s resignation in December. He has instituted no major reform. He has made no memorable statement on global affairs. People who have worked alongside the former Boeing executive sound ambivalent about him. A newcomer to foreign affairs and security policy, he is not known to have strong views, ideological or otherwise. He is said to be a competent manager, which might be considered a minimal requirement for leading America’s armed forces and the vast Pentagon bureaucracy. On May 9th the White House announced that Donald Trump intended to nominate Mr Shanahan to his job on a permanent basis.

This represents a big change in what Mr Trump requires from his defence secretary. He picked Mr Mattis, a highly-respected former marine general, at a time when he was new to foreign affairs, unsure of the demands of the presidency and bedazzled by a man in uniform. He referred approvingly to him by his service nickname, “Mad Dog Mattis,” though the moniker was rarely used and Mr Mattis hated it. Mr Trump’s enthusiasm for Mr Mattis dwindled once it became clear that he was neither the bull-headed killer Mr Trump had taken him for, nor prepared to be the president’s own loyal general.

While on board with some of Mr Trump’s instincts—for example, in his stepped-up bombing campaigns against the Taliban and Islamic State—Mr Mattis quietly repudiated the president’s values. He spent much of his time flying around the world trying to reassure the traditional allies Mr Trump lambasted. He stymied Mr Trump’s efforts to ban transsexuals from the armed forces. He survived in the administration for as long as he did through a combination of discretion, chaos elsewhere in the cabinet, and the defence department’s enormous heft. By replacing Mr Mattis with a much less commanding figure, Mr Trump has signalled his preference for loyalty over stature in the most independent power-base within the government.

Mr Shanahan showed his loyalty earlier this year by endorsing Mr Trump’s scheme to siphon billions of dollars from the defence budget to put towards a border-wall. He has also argued for the proposed new Space Force—in effect a sixth service branch—that Mr Trump has demanded. This is said to have won him over to Mr Trump, who had previously resisted pressure to make Mr Shanahan’s acting tenure permanent.

The announcement of Mr Shanahan’s impending nomination follows the conclusion of a month-long Pentagon investigation into whether he improperly promoted Boeing and disparaged its competitors within the department. Though exonerated by the Pentagon’s acting inspector general, Mr Shanahan was described in his report as speaking peculiarly often—in almost every meeting—about his experience overseeing Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner programme. That points, if not to corruption, to his unusual callowness in government, which Republican national-security hawks such as Lindsey Graham are said to be troubled by. It will also make him a target for Democratic senators in his confirmation hearings. An investigation by the New York Times found that the production facility in North Carolina that makes the Dreamliner has been subject to many allegations of poor safety standards, as managers rushed to meet production targets.

Assuming Mr Shanahan is confirmed, his low profile and business background could both turn out to be beneficial for the defence department. It is locked in a perpetual struggle with the sorts of glitches, including inefficient basing, overstaffing and costly acquisitions programmes, he prides himself on solving at Boeing. More traditional defence secretaries—including Mr Mattis—routinely vow to get grips with such problems, before getting distracted by global security. That is less likely to happen to Mr Shanahan, who announced when taking over from Mr Mattis that he intended to travel much less than his predecessor had.

The flip-side of his leadership would probably be a diminution of the Pentagon’s role in shaping foreign and security policy. This is good news for Mike Pompeo and John Bolton, the belligerent secretary of state and national secretary adviser. They are already profiting from Mr Mattis’s absence. Having the ear of Mr Trump, who likes their style if not necessarily their bellicosity, they have taken the lead on security issues such as Iran—to which Mr Pompeo promised on May 9th a “swift and decisive” US response to any provocation. As well as being far better versed in foreign affairs, both are more adept inter-departmental players than Mr Shanahan, who has the least government experience of almost any defence secretary of recent times. While presiding over by far the biggest government department, he might struggle to check his cabinet colleagues. He will not check Mr Trump.

公众号后台回复：

"政府工作报告"|"资料"|"外交部金句"|"卢敏".......

更多英汉注释政府报告：

十九大完结

19大词组及句子整理（百度网盘）

2019政府工作报告完结@备考CATTI个人注释

2018政府工作报告完结@备考CATTI个人注释

2017政府工作报告完结@备考CATTI个人注释

【中英对照全文】2019政府工作报告