Posted on 01/19/2013 10:28:56 PM PST by Saoirise
Mad Dog Mattis. The Warrior Monk. Married to the Marine Corps.
It’s all hype that embarrasses Gen. James Mattis, the chief of U.S. Central Command, who is preparing to retire this spring after one of the most productive four-decade sprints in uniform of his generation.
To Marines, Mattis is Chaos, his call sign and nom de guerre. According to interviews with more than a half-dozen officers who know him well, Mattis is an iconoclast and innovator who strove to outmaneuver the enemy on the battlefield, paralysis in Washington and the “yes, sir!” culture of the military.
Others, particularly civilians, consider the former Camp Pendleton-based commander controversial or brutish, based on statements such as one Mattis made in San Diego in 2005 when he proclaimed he liked brawling and shooting some people — like the Taliban. “You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap around women for five years because they didn’t wear a veil. You know guys like that ain’t got no manhood left anyway, so it’s a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them,” he said.
Imaging
In person Mattis, 62, is unimposing. He is rather short and slight of build. He speaks with a lisp and rarely raises his voice. His blunt tough talk, however, and indisputable aggressiveness in combat endear him to many Marines, especially teenage infantrymen who volunteered during wartime to kill bad guys. Mattis has been rebuked and told to choose his words more carefully, but he never apologized or admitted any regrets — another mark in his favor among the rank and file.
His pugnacious soliloquies are said to be part of his brilliance as a communicator and, some add, a useful contrivance to rally the troops. Whether his audience is lance corporals heading into combat or sultans, kings
(Excerpt) Read more at utsandiego.com ...
HADITHA
HAMDANIA
I will always associate the "Mad Dog" with the "persecutions" of our Marines in the above cases!
Wonder how he feels about the attempted homosexualization of his Marine Corps by kingObama.
Don`t know how he feels about the DADT repeal internally, but he said absolutely nothing about it publicly.
An iconoclast would stand in the gap and shout out, “NO” and retire in protest. Mattis did nothing.
Mattis quotes:
Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet.
I come in peace. I didn’t bring artillery. But I’m pleading with you, with tears in my eyes: If you f* with me, I’ll kill you all.
Political pressure being the key words. Perhaps for military leaders who are schooled and experienced in the art of war it's best that they resist political pressure from those who are not in harms way.
Charges were brought and signed by Gen. Mattis in the Haditha case and there's absolutely no doubt about political pressure being brought by politicians, John Murtha being the pathetic leader of that pressure publicly. It's anyones guess who else and how high up that pressure came from behind the scenes but there had to be much of it.
It's a shame Gen. Mattis didn't resist that pressure and do the right thing by his Marines.
Thanks for the ping, Sao.
Thanks for the ping.
Mattis had such a terrific reputation before the Haditha disgrace.
And it did.
Excellent piece bt Nat Helms.
Well, THIS is interesting!!!
1/20/13
“Report: Obama Ousting CENTCOM Chief Mattis”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2980144/posts
Obama’s purging of the Generals continues..
In the past two years alone, we lost three of our top Generals, McKrystal, Petraeus and Matthis
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