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Great post. I also worked under Mattis when he was the CG of MCCDC in Quantico. I was fooled by all the sound-bytes from his seemingly storied career, as most Marines were. I was in Quantico when this event happened (Mattis had since left).

Truth is, we all wanted another Al Gray, Lewis Puller, Smedley Butler, or John Lejeune. In the spring of 2005, there was a air of defeat. No one knew how to turn it around. We forgot our own doctrine for counterinsurgency, and adopted a policy of attrition and chasing inanimate objects (IEDs).

As I was working on a re-write of a Marine Corps doctrinal pub, I came across one remark that made me question his generalship:

"Doctrine is the last refuge of the unimaginative"

Yet here I was staring at a doctrinal issue that was wrong, held over from all of the preceding wars that the Marine Corps never dealt with, particularly in the information age. Then I went back into his career and saw nothing remarkable. All of the tactical decisions were common sense and unimaginative. He was a good tactician, but that is all. He was promoted beyond his capabilities. Peter Pace.....now HE was a general.

Mattis retired and went on to make a fortune serving on four corporate boards, including Theranos and military contractor General Dynamics.

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.
— Dwight D. Eisenhower
Farewell radio and television address to the American people, 17 Jan. 1961

Paraphrasing: Trump said in his recent rally in Alaska that General Mattis said it would take 3 years to defeat ISIS. Trump did not think it should but Mattis said it would. When Trump visited Iraq he asked the general in charge there how long as he knew the people there knew what it would really take. The general answered 3 weeks or less. Trump said he would call him soon. He did after getting back to the White House and made the call and asked again how long. He was told 3 weeks or less and Trump gave the go ahead.

It took less then 3 weeks to kill I think Trump said around 98% or there about. He was told where the remaining ones were hold up and was asked permission to kill the rest and Trump said he was hesitate and said do we really need to kill them, maybe ask them to surrender and he was told they do not surrender. Back and forth a bit but he finally said go ahead and ISIS was defeated.

Now you know why the backstabber Mattis hates Trump.

As for Operation Linebacker, it was the the people in the know knew what to do to defeat the communists and showed just how quick it could be done.

The democrats and the rinos back then and the backstabber military officers in the Pentagon threw it all away which led to the South Vietnam being defeated and the killing of millions of people all over ego and pride and vindictiveness.