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I Served With James Mattis. Here's What I Learned From Him.
The Federalist.com ^ | Dec 2 2016 | Stanton Coerr

Posted on 12/02/2016 11:12:49 AM PST by dubyagee

America knows Gen. James Mattis as a character, Mad Dog Mattis, the font of funny quotes and Chuck Norris-caliber memes. Those of us who served with him know that he is a caring, erudite, warfighting general. We also know that there is a reason he uses the call-sign Chaos: he is a lifelong student of his profession, a devotee of maneuver warfare and Sun Tzu, the sort of guy who wants to win without fighting—to cause chaos among those he would oppose.

(Excerpt) Read more at thefederalist.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: artofwar; jamesmattis; mattis; secdef; secretaryofdefense; trump; trumpcabinet; trumptransition
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1 posted on 12/02/2016 11:12:49 AM PST by dubyagee
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To: dubyagee

Mattis is a student of Sun Tzu, the philosopher general of ancient China.


2 posted on 12/02/2016 11:15:45 AM PST by Genoa (Luke 12:2)
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To: dubyagee

“Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look on them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death.” Sun Tzu


3 posted on 12/02/2016 11:21:26 AM PST by Genoa (Luke 12:2)
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To: dubyagee

“He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks.” Sun Tzu


4 posted on 12/02/2016 11:22:23 AM PST by Genoa (Luke 12:2)
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To: Genoa

Sun Tzu was a very wise man.


5 posted on 12/02/2016 11:23:50 AM PST by dubyagee ("I can't complain, but sometimes I still do.")
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To: Genoa

There are few books I reread on a regular basis: Art of War (Sun Tzu) and the Book of Five Rings (Miyamoto) are two of them.

Both of these do more than tell you things - the way they are written makes you think for yourself about how to use the ideas.


6 posted on 12/02/2016 11:25:05 AM PST by reed13k
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To: dubyagee

Excellent article. His interview at the Heritage Foundation should be mandatory viewing for all Americans, especially the ones who think he is a blood-thirsty warmonger.


7 posted on 12/02/2016 11:26:10 AM PST by rlmorel (Orwell described Liberals when he wrote of those who "repudiate morality while laying claim to it.")
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To: dubyagee

That is a great read! Thanks for posting it!


8 posted on 12/02/2016 11:29:02 AM PST by Batman11 (“How sweet it is! —Jackie Gleason")
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To: dubyagee

Unbelievably impressive. Not only the man, but the man who has selected him.


9 posted on 12/02/2016 11:29:36 AM PST by bigbob (We have better coverage than Verizon - Can You Hear Us Now?)
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To: dubyagee

To heck with Sun Tzu:

“I’m going to plead with you, do not cross us. Because if you do, the survivors will write about what we do here for 10,000 years.”
and
“Find the enemy that wants to end this experiment (in American democracy) and kill every one of them until they’re so sick of the killing that they leave us and our freedoms intact.”
- Gen. James Mattis


10 posted on 12/02/2016 11:29:44 AM PST by Redbob (W.W.J.B.D. - What Would Jack Bauer Do?)
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To: dubyagee
I want this man as SecDef

GC
LTC, USA, Ret.


11 posted on 12/02/2016 11:30:05 AM PST by Gamecock (Gun owner. Christian. Pro-American. Pro Law and Order. I am in the basket of deplorables.)
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To: Gamecock
And the leader of men side:


12 posted on 12/02/2016 11:31:22 AM PST by Gamecock (Gun owner. Christian. Pro-American. Pro Law and Order. I am in the basket of deplorables.)
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To: Genoa

Every officer in the U.S. military is required to read Sun Tzu, as I recall.

I read him. I still have his little book. It is not all that easy to decipher because of the cultural differences.


13 posted on 12/02/2016 11:32:25 AM PST by marktwain
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To: rlmorel

Link?


14 posted on 12/02/2016 11:33:11 AM PST by Cobra64 (Common sense isn't common any more.)
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To: Genoa
"Man who walks through airport turnstile sideways is going to Bangkok."

Wait a minute -- I think that's Confucius, not Sun Tzu. :-P

15 posted on 12/02/2016 11:34:59 AM PST by Alberta's Child ("Yo, bartender -- Jobu needs a refill!")
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To: dubyagee

Haditha Marines couldn’t be reached for comment.


16 posted on 12/02/2016 11:37:30 AM PST by proust (Trump / Pence 2016!)
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To: dubyagee

I’m getting a 404 page not found error. Went to Fedrlst homepage and found the link to the article, and got same error.


17 posted on 12/02/2016 11:54:29 AM PST by AFreeBird (BEST. ELECTION. EVER!)
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To: proust

“Haditha Marines couldn’t be reached for comment.”

In point of fact, Mattis called two Haditha Marines “innocent” when he dismissed the charges against them.

WaPo article at this link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/09/AR2007080900696.html

PDF file of Dismissal of Charges against Cpl. Sharratt here:

http://warchronicle.com/TheyAreNotKillers/LCplSharratt/Dismissal_of_Charges_in_case_of_United_States_v._LCpl_Justin_Sharratt.pdf

Mattis’ comments are quite powerful.


18 posted on 12/02/2016 11:59:06 AM PST by paterfamilias
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To: reed13k

May have to give them a look...tks.


19 posted on 12/02/2016 12:02:24 PM PST by dubyagee ("I can't complain, but sometimes I still do.")
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To: bigbob

Yup. It’s that whole character thing that’s so undervalued in liberal circles. ;)


20 posted on 12/02/2016 12:03:37 PM PST by dubyagee ("I can't complain, but sometimes I still do.")
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