8/2/2017

DEFENSE/JAMES MATTIS/MILITARY/UAE: “Defense Secretary James Mattis received permission from the US military after retiring from the Marine Corps to work as a military adviser to the United Arab Emirates, newly disclosed Pentagon records show.
Mattis, a retired Marine general, was not paid for the advising work, according to the Pentagon, and the advising role was considered informal, a senior UAE official told CNN.
Mattis has not publicly acknowledged his advisory work for the UAE, for which he sought approval in 2015 while he was a fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution.
Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman speaking on the defense secretary’s behalf, confirmed that Mattis advised the UAE on rebuilding its military. The work was for free, Davis said, and Mattis was not representing the US government. He was reimbursed by the UAE for his travel costs, Davis said.
Though not previously known publicly, Mattis’ work for the UAE was legal as a retired military general, and he properly disclosed the information when he was nominated as President Donald Trump’s defense secretary…
Mattis retired from the Marines in 2013 after serving as head of US Central Command, a position overseeing US military operations in the military where he would work alongside military officials from the Emirates.”

-Jeremy Herb, “First on CNN: Mattis advised UAE military before joining Trump administration,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, Aug. 2, 2017 02:32pm