<p>Trump received serious criticism when he called for a return to waterboarding after the terror attack on Istanbul this summer.</p>
<p>He suggested that US and international laws that prohibit torture are standing in the way of our fight against ISIS, saying at an Ohio rally that waterboarding is &ldquo;peanuts compared to many alternatives.&rdquo;</p>
<p>The President-elect ;met with retired general James Mattis this weekend, and now considers him to be the leading candidate for the position of ;Defense Secretary. Mattis is the &#8220;real deal,&#8221; said Trump.</p>
<p>When asked about his thoughts on waterboarding, Mattis said he could do better with &ldquo;a pack of cigarettes and a couple of beers&rdquo; than with torture. ;</p>
<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not saying it changed by mind,&rdquo; said Trump. &ldquo;We have people that are chopping off heads and drowning people in steel cages and we&rsquo;re not allowed to waterboard. But I&rsquo;ll tell you what, I was impressed by that answer.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>Mattis is a seasoned commander, having served in both Afghanistan and Iraq during his 44 years of service in the Marine Corps. He earned the nickname &ldquo;Mad Dog&rdquo; after his ferocity in the deadly Battle of Fallujah in ;2004 and came under fire a year later for saying, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s fun to shoot some people. I&rsquo;ll be right up front with you. I like brawling.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&#8220;Mad Dog&#8221; Mattis&#8217; selection as potential Defense Secretary has been met with approval, but the retired general faces one legislative hurdle. According to federal law, the Secretary of Defense must be a civilian OR must wait seven years after retiring from the military. ;</p>
<p>Mattis retired just three years ago, and in order for him to accept the position Congress must first vote to waive the rule. This ;phenomenon has occured only once in American history &#8211; when President Truman appointed Gen. George Marshall in 1950. ;</p>
<p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s nothing magical in the seven years,&rdquo; says Mattis. &ldquo;They want to have enough time to say &lsquo;are you separate enough from the military ethic and culture and part of the community as such to be the civilian boss?&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
<p><strong>Editor&#8217;s note:</strong> As a former intelligence officer, I have always cringed when Trump says he may allow torture. When I was a young officer in training at the CIA, our briefers always told us they did not use torture. It was not a moral decision, it was a practical one. Torture rarely yielded reliable results ;and their professionals already had better methods to get information from a captured opponent. Mattis is absolutely correct, and the question is moot.</p>
<p>The bottom line is that waterboarding should never been done in the first place.</p>