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James Norman Mattis (born September 8, 1950) is an American veteran and former government official who served as the 26th United States Secretary of Defense from January 2017 through December 2018. A retired United States Marine Corps general, Mattis served in the Persian Gulf War, the War in Afghanistan, and the Iraq War.
Mattis was commissioned in the Marine Corps through the Naval Reserve Officers' Training Corps after graduating from Central Washington University. A career Marine, he gained a reputation among his peers for "intellectualism," and eventually advanced to the rank of general. From 2007 to 2010 he commanded the United States Joint Forces Command and concurrently served as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Transformation. He was Commander of United States Central Command from 2010 to 2013 with Admiral Bob Harward serving as his Deputy Commander, and Jill Kelley as his military Ambassador[4]. After retiring from the military, he served in several private sector roles, including as a board member of Theranos.[5]
Mattis was nominated as Secretary of Defense by President-elect Donald Trump, and confirmed by the Senate on January 20, 2017. He needed a waiver from Congress to allow his nomination to be considered, as he had only been separated from the military for three years and U.S. federal law requires at least seven years of retirement for former military personnel to be appointed Secretary of Defense.[6] As Secretary of Defense, Mattis affirmed the United States' commitment to defending longtime ally South Korea in the wake of the 2017 North Korea crisis.[7][8] An opponent of proposed collaboration with China and Russia,[9] Mattis stressed what he saw as their "threat to the American-led world order".[10][11] Mattis occasionally voiced his disagreement with certain Trump administration policies, opposing the proposed withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal[12] and budget cuts that hamper the ability to monitor the impacts of climate change.[13][14]
Mattis was commissioned in the Marine Corps through the Naval Reserve Officers' Training Corps after graduating from Central Washington University. A career Marine, he gained a reputation among his peers for "intellectualism," and eventually advanced to the rank of general. From 2007 to 2010 he commanded the United States Joint Forces Command and concurrently served as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Transformation. He was Commander of United States Central Command from 2010 to 2013 with Admiral Bob Harward serving as his Deputy Commander, and Jill Kelley as his military Ambassador[4]. After retiring from the military, he served in several private sector roles, including as a board member of Theranos.[5]
Mattis was nominated as Secretary of Defense by President-elect Donald Trump, and confirmed by the Senate on January 20, 2017. He needed a waiver from Congress to allow his nomination to be considered, as he had only been separated from the military for three years and U.S. federal law requires at least seven years of retirement for former military personnel to be appointed Secretary of Defense.[6] As Secretary of Defense, Mattis affirmed the United States' commitment to defending longtime ally South Korea in the wake of the 2017 North Korea crisis.[7][8] An opponent of proposed collaboration with China and Russia,[9] Mattis stressed what he saw as their "threat to the American-led world order".[10][11] Mattis occasionally voiced his disagreement with certain Trump administration policies, opposing the proposed withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal[12] and budget cuts that hamper the ability to monitor the impacts of climate change.[13][14]
Jim Mattis - Wikipedia
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Reflections with General James Mattis - Conversations with History
(Visit: http://www.uctv.tv/) Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes General James Mattis (U.S. Marine Corp. ret.), former Head of Central Command for a d...
Thank you, my friend Maj Marty Hogan for making us aware that September 8 is the anniversary of the birth of United States Marine Corps officer James Norman Mattis "who served as the 26th United States Secretary of Defense from January 2017 through December 2018."
Kudos to James Norman Mattis for his many decades of honorable and exemplary service to this nation.
Reflections with General James Mattis - Conversations with History
"Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes General James Mattis (U.S. Marine Corp. ret.), former Head of Central Command for a discussion of his military career. Topics covered include: his formative years, the skill set and temperament required to be a marine, his command philosophy, his battle experience in Afghanistan and Iraq, the role of the military in securing peace, the contribution of the military to the policy debate, and his advice for students as they prepare for the future. Recorded on 03/20/2014. Series: "Conversations with History" [6/2014] [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 28135]"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOc38ZwEO8s
Images:
1. Brig. Gen. James Mattis talks with his officers of the 15th and 26th Marine Expeditionary Units during a briefing at Kandahar airport, part of Camp Rhino, December 12, 2001.
2. Young Jim Mattis
3. left-to-right College age, Lt Col, and GEN Jim Mattis
Background from prabook.com/web/james.mattis/1677632
"James Norman Mattis also known as Jim Mattis, "Chaos" "Warrior Monk", "Mad Dog"
military Veteran
James Mattis, byname Mad Dog, is a United States Marine Corps general who served as head of Central Command (Centcom; 2010–13) and who was later secretary of defense (2017–18) in the cabinet of United States President Donald Trump.
Background
Mattis was born on September 8, 1950, in Pullman, Washington. He is the son of Lucille (Proulx) Mattis (born 1922) and John West Mattis (1915–1988), a merchant mariner. His mother immigrated to the United States from Canada as an infant and had worked in Army Intelligence in South Africa during the Second World War. Mattis's father moved to Richland, Washington, to work at a plant supplying fissile material to the Manhattan Project. Mattis was raised in a bookish household that did not own a television.
Education
Jim Mattis graduated from Richland High School in 1968.
Mattis enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1969 and attended Central Washington University as part of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program. He earned a bachelor’s degree in 1971 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant the following year.
He earned a Master of Arts in international security affairs from the National War College of National Defense University in 1994.
Career
Mattis received a number of small unit commands during his time as a first lieutenant and later as a captain. Upon his promotion to major, Mattis oversaw the marine recruiting station in Portland, Oregon. After being promoted to lieutenant colonel, he deployed to the Persian Gulf as a part of Operation Desert Shield and commanded the 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, in the Persian Gulf War. As one of the lead assault elements of the 1st Marine Division’s Regimental Combat Team 7 (Task Force Ripper), Mattis’s battalion was one of the first into Kuwait. Mattis was awarded a Bronze Star for valour, and upon his promotion to colonel he received one of the Marine Corps’s highest, if lesser known, honours—Edson’s Eagles, the rank insignia first worn by the legendary Marine Raider commander Merritt (“Red Mike”) Edson, which is bestowed upon the colonel who best exemplifies Edson’s fighting spirit. Mattis wore Edson’s Eagles from 1995 until his promotion to brigadier general in 1997, at which point he passed the insignia on to another colonel.
Mattis received command of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade, and, during the planning stages of the Afghanistan War, he was chosen to lead Task Force 58. Task Force 58 consisted of two United States Navy amphibious readiness groups, and Mattis was the first marine to be given such a command. Afghanistan, a landlocked country, presented an obvious challenge to the amphibious assault forces, but Mattis brokered a secret agreement with the government of Pakistan to provide landing beaches and access to an airstrip. Task Force 58 was airlifted into Afghanistan in late November 2001 and was instrumental in the capture of Kandahār, a city regarded as the spiritual home of the Taliban.
Promoted to major general, Mattis led the 1st Marine Division during the early stages of the Iraq War, overseeing the longest sustained overland advance in Marine Corps history. The division returned to the United States in late 2003 but redeployed to Iraq the following year, and Mattis led the marine assault on Al-Fallūjah. In May 2004 Mattis received his third star, and he was assigned to the Marine Corps Combat Development Command in Quantico, Virginia. There he sought to disseminate the lessons learned in Iraq and Afghanistan to troops in the field, and he worked with United States Army General David Petraeus on Field Manual 3-24, a comprehensive counterinsurgency document.
He established the Center for Advanced Operational Culture Learning, a training academy for marine officers and senior enlisted personnel, to instill cultural awareness and language skills, and he emphasized the “hearts and minds” approach to counterinsurgency operations. In 2007 Mattis was promoted to general and was chosen to lead Joint Forces Command, a training and planning unit that oversees the integration of the various branches of military service into a cohesive fighting force. After General Stanley McChrystal was relieved as head of United States and NATO forces in Afghanistan in 2010, a command shuffle ensued with Petraeus assuming McChrystal’s role and Mattis replacing Petraeus as head of Centcom. Mattis held that position until his retirement from the Marine Corps in 2013.
In December 2016 Mattis was chosen by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as secretary of defense. His eligibility for this position was contingent upon the granting of a congressional waiver, as amendments to the National Security Act prohibited active-duty commissioned officers from serving as defense secretary for a period of seven years after their retirement. This policy was adopted to ensure a separation between the uniformed military and the civilian oversight provided by the executive branch; the only waiver that had been granted since the passage of the National Security Act was for the appointment of George C. Marshall in 1950. Nevertheless, Congress approved the waiver, and on January 20, 2017, Mattis was confirmed by the Senate by a 98–1 vote. He was sworn in later that day.
Mattis served as an example of professionalism and stability in a White House that was characterized by unpredictability, infighting, and frequent staff turnover. As tensions rose between Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in 2017, Mattis reportedly forged a “suicide pact” with Tillerson and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, whereby if one were forced out, all three would resign. Although Tillerson was fired in March 2018, Mattis and Mnuchin remained in their positions. In June 2018 Trump announced that the United States would suspend joint military exercises with South Korea, a move that apparently took the Pentagon by surprise. Mattis, who had made combat readiness one of his main priorities, was forced to reconcile Trump’s statements with the historic United States commitment to the military security of South Korea. Although joint exercises resumed months later, the public disconnect between Trump and Mattis revealed a widening breach between the two.
In December 2018 Trump announced that he would withdraw United States troops from Syria, where they were conducting anti-terrorism operations. That decision was made over the vehement objections of Trump’s senior advisers, and the following day Mattis announced that he would resign in protest, effective February 28, 2019. In his resignation letter Mattis stated that his “views on treating allies with respect and also being clear-eyed about both malign actors and strategic competitors are strongly held” and that Trump should have “a Secretary of Defense whose views are better aligned with (Trump’s) on these and other subjects.” The letter made headlines and drew the ire of the president, who forced Mattis to leave office on December 31, 2018, some two months earlier than expected.
Religion
Mattis is a Catholic, and has been described as "devout" and "committed." During the 2003 Iraq invasion, he often prayed with general John F. Kelly on Sundays. The Trump transition team's formal biography of Mattis described him as "the living embodiment of the Marine Corps motto, Semper Fidelis." He has declined when asked by reporters to discuss his faith in public. In a 2003 PBS interview, Mattis recalled how his Marines followed advice from his chaplain on gaining the support of Iraqi citizens: "On the suggestion of my Catholic chaplain the Marines would take chilled drinking water in bottles and walk out amongst the protesters and hand it out. It is just hard to throw a rock at somebody who has given you a cold drink of water and it's 120 degrees outside."
Politics
Israeli–Palestinian peace process. Mattis supports a two-state solution model for Israeli–Palestinian peace. He has said the situation in Israel is "unsustainable" and that Israeli settlements harm prospects for peace and could lead to an apartheid-like situation in the West Bank. In particular, he has said that the perception of biased American support for Israel has made it difficult for moderate Arabs to show support for the United States. Mattis strongly supported Secretary of State John Kerry on the Middle East peace process, praising Kerry for being "wisely focused like a laser beam" on a two-state solution.
Iran and Middle Eastern allies. Mattis believes Iran is the principal threat to the stability of the Middle East, ahead of Al-Qaeda and ISIS. Mattis says: "I consider ISIS nothing more than an excuse for Iran to continue its mischief. Iran is not an enemy of ISIS. They have a lot to gain from the turmoil in the region that ISIS creates." Mattis sees the Iran nuclear deal as a poor agreement, but believes there is now no way to tear it up, saying: "We are just going to have to recognize that we have an imperfect arms control agreement. Second, that what we achieved is a nuclear pause, not a nuclear halt". Mattis argues that inspections may fail to prevent Iran from seeking to develop nuclear weapons, but that "if nothing else at least we will have better targeting data if it comes to a fight in the future." Additionally, he criticized Obama for being "naive" about Iranian intentions and Congress for being "pretty much absent" on the nuclear deal.
Mattis praises the friendship of regional US allies such as Jordan, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates. He also criticized Obama for seeing allies as "free-loading", saying: "For a sitting United States President to see our allies as freeloaders is nuts." He has cited the importance of the United Arab Emirates and Jordan as countries that wanted to help, for example, in filling in the gaps in Afghanistan. He criticized Obama's defense strategy as giving "the perception we're pulling back" from US allies. He stresses the need for the US to bolster its ties with allied intelligence agencies, particularly those of Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. In 2012, Mattis argued for providing weapons to Syrian rebels as a way to fight back against Iranian proxies in Syria.
The departure of several of Mattis's senior deputies in the fall of 2018 caused concern in foreign policy circles. Many senior officials served only because of Mattis and fought political battles with the White House regularly. One of the most serious areas of concern has been the potential for war with Iran because of the Trump Administration's withdrawal from the JCPOA at the same time the United States military is redeploying forces from the Middle East to the Pacific to better compete with China and contain North Korea.
Japan. Mattis visited Japan one week after being sworn in as Secretary of Defense. During a meeting with Prime Minister Shinzō Abe, Mattis emphasized that the United States remains committed to the mutual defense of Japan and stated, "I want there to be no misunderstanding during the transition in Washington that we stand firmly, 100 percent, shoulder to shoulder with you and the Japanese people."
Mattis reassured Japan that the United States would defend the disputed Senkaku Islands controlled by Japan but also claimed by China and Taiwan.
Russia. Speaking at a conference sponsored by The Heritage Foundation in Washington in 2015, Mattis said he believed that Russian President Vladimir Putin's intent is "to break NATO apart." Mattis has also spoken out against what he perceives as Russia's expansionist or bellicose policies in Syria, Ukraine and the Baltic states. In 2017, Mattis said that the world order is "under biggest attacks since World War Two, from Russia, terrorist groups, and China's actions in the South China Sea."
On February 16, 2017, Mattis said the United States was not currently prepared to collaborate with Russia on military matters, including future anti-ISIS United States operations. In August 2017, he said: "Despite Russia's denials, we know they are seeking to redraw international borders by force, undermining the sovereign and free nations of Europe".
China. Mattis called for freedom of navigation in the South China Sea and criticized China's island-building activities, saying: "The bottom line is (...) the international waters are international waters."
Views
In 2017, Mattis said that budget cuts would hamper the ability to monitor the impact of climate change, and noted, "climate change is a challenge that requires a broader, whole-of-government response."
Quotations: "It’s quite fun to shoot them, you know. It’s a hell of a hoot. It’s fun to shoot some people."
"There are some assholes in the world that just need to be shot."
"I come in peace. I didn’t bring artillery. But I’m pleading with you, with tears in my eyes: If you fuck with me, I’ll kill you all."
"Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet."
"There are some people who think you have to hate them in order to shoot them. I don’t think you do."
"In a country with millions of people and cars going everywhere, the enemy is going to get a car bomb out there once in awhile."
"PowerPoint makes us stupid."
"I get a lot of credit these days for things I never did."
“Engage your brain before you engage your weapon.”
Membership
In August 2013, he became an Annenberg Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution and has since been named as their Davies Family Distinguished Visiting Fellow.
Hoover Institution
Personality
Although known for blunt, sometimes provocative speech (in 2005 he described members of the Taliban as “fun to shoot”), Mattis was described by his peers as a “warrior monk” who embraced the Clausewitzian view of war as a political instrument.
Physical Characteristics: Height: 1.75 m
Quotes from others about the person
“"Jim Mattis I first met when I went to the Pentagon. He was a young colonel. And as Senator Nunn has pointed out, he had a reputation even then. This is somebody to watch. He is young. He is smart. He does not really belong behind a desk, although he may belong there right now, but at that time, he wanted to get out into the field. He is a warrior by nature... But that is really not why we are here. If he were only a great warrior, you would say, well, there are a lot of other warriors as well. He comes because he is a man of thought, as well as action. And sometimes it is said you can judge people by the friends he makes, the company he keeps, but also by the books he reads. General Mattis has some 6,000 books in his library, most of which, if not all of them, he has read, and he can refer to either Alexander the Great, General Grant, Sun Tzu. And I suspect he is probably the only one here at this table who can hear the words “Thucydides Trap” and not have to go to Wikipedia to find out what it means. And so he is a scholar as well and a strategic thinker as well as a great warrior." - William Cohen”
Connections
Mattis has never been married and has no children. He proposed to a woman, but she called off the wedding days before it was to occur, not wanting to burden his career. He is nicknamed "The Warrior Monk" because of his bachelorhood and lifelong devotion to the study of war."
FYI MSgt David HoffmanSgt (Join to see)SFC (Join to see)
cmsgt-rickey-denickeSGT Forrest FitzrandolphLTC (Join to see)Sgt John H.SGT Robert R.SGT (Join to see)
SGT Steve McFarlandCol Carl WhickerSGT Mark Anderson
CW4 Craig UrbanSSG Michael NollSFC Jack Champion
A1C Ian WilliamsSFC Jay Thompsonaa John Zodun
Kudos to James Norman Mattis for his many decades of honorable and exemplary service to this nation.
Reflections with General James Mattis - Conversations with History
"Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes General James Mattis (U.S. Marine Corp. ret.), former Head of Central Command for a discussion of his military career. Topics covered include: his formative years, the skill set and temperament required to be a marine, his command philosophy, his battle experience in Afghanistan and Iraq, the role of the military in securing peace, the contribution of the military to the policy debate, and his advice for students as they prepare for the future. Recorded on 03/20/2014. Series: "Conversations with History" [6/2014] [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 28135]"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOc38ZwEO8s
Images:
1. Brig. Gen. James Mattis talks with his officers of the 15th and 26th Marine Expeditionary Units during a briefing at Kandahar airport, part of Camp Rhino, December 12, 2001.
2. Young Jim Mattis
3. left-to-right College age, Lt Col, and GEN Jim Mattis
Background from prabook.com/web/james.mattis/1677632
"James Norman Mattis also known as Jim Mattis, "Chaos" "Warrior Monk", "Mad Dog"
military Veteran
James Mattis, byname Mad Dog, is a United States Marine Corps general who served as head of Central Command (Centcom; 2010–13) and who was later secretary of defense (2017–18) in the cabinet of United States President Donald Trump.
Background
Mattis was born on September 8, 1950, in Pullman, Washington. He is the son of Lucille (Proulx) Mattis (born 1922) and John West Mattis (1915–1988), a merchant mariner. His mother immigrated to the United States from Canada as an infant and had worked in Army Intelligence in South Africa during the Second World War. Mattis's father moved to Richland, Washington, to work at a plant supplying fissile material to the Manhattan Project. Mattis was raised in a bookish household that did not own a television.
Education
Jim Mattis graduated from Richland High School in 1968.
Mattis enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1969 and attended Central Washington University as part of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program. He earned a bachelor’s degree in 1971 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant the following year.
He earned a Master of Arts in international security affairs from the National War College of National Defense University in 1994.
Career
Mattis received a number of small unit commands during his time as a first lieutenant and later as a captain. Upon his promotion to major, Mattis oversaw the marine recruiting station in Portland, Oregon. After being promoted to lieutenant colonel, he deployed to the Persian Gulf as a part of Operation Desert Shield and commanded the 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, in the Persian Gulf War. As one of the lead assault elements of the 1st Marine Division’s Regimental Combat Team 7 (Task Force Ripper), Mattis’s battalion was one of the first into Kuwait. Mattis was awarded a Bronze Star for valour, and upon his promotion to colonel he received one of the Marine Corps’s highest, if lesser known, honours—Edson’s Eagles, the rank insignia first worn by the legendary Marine Raider commander Merritt (“Red Mike”) Edson, which is bestowed upon the colonel who best exemplifies Edson’s fighting spirit. Mattis wore Edson’s Eagles from 1995 until his promotion to brigadier general in 1997, at which point he passed the insignia on to another colonel.
Mattis received command of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade, and, during the planning stages of the Afghanistan War, he was chosen to lead Task Force 58. Task Force 58 consisted of two United States Navy amphibious readiness groups, and Mattis was the first marine to be given such a command. Afghanistan, a landlocked country, presented an obvious challenge to the amphibious assault forces, but Mattis brokered a secret agreement with the government of Pakistan to provide landing beaches and access to an airstrip. Task Force 58 was airlifted into Afghanistan in late November 2001 and was instrumental in the capture of Kandahār, a city regarded as the spiritual home of the Taliban.
Promoted to major general, Mattis led the 1st Marine Division during the early stages of the Iraq War, overseeing the longest sustained overland advance in Marine Corps history. The division returned to the United States in late 2003 but redeployed to Iraq the following year, and Mattis led the marine assault on Al-Fallūjah. In May 2004 Mattis received his third star, and he was assigned to the Marine Corps Combat Development Command in Quantico, Virginia. There he sought to disseminate the lessons learned in Iraq and Afghanistan to troops in the field, and he worked with United States Army General David Petraeus on Field Manual 3-24, a comprehensive counterinsurgency document.
He established the Center for Advanced Operational Culture Learning, a training academy for marine officers and senior enlisted personnel, to instill cultural awareness and language skills, and he emphasized the “hearts and minds” approach to counterinsurgency operations. In 2007 Mattis was promoted to general and was chosen to lead Joint Forces Command, a training and planning unit that oversees the integration of the various branches of military service into a cohesive fighting force. After General Stanley McChrystal was relieved as head of United States and NATO forces in Afghanistan in 2010, a command shuffle ensued with Petraeus assuming McChrystal’s role and Mattis replacing Petraeus as head of Centcom. Mattis held that position until his retirement from the Marine Corps in 2013.
In December 2016 Mattis was chosen by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as secretary of defense. His eligibility for this position was contingent upon the granting of a congressional waiver, as amendments to the National Security Act prohibited active-duty commissioned officers from serving as defense secretary for a period of seven years after their retirement. This policy was adopted to ensure a separation between the uniformed military and the civilian oversight provided by the executive branch; the only waiver that had been granted since the passage of the National Security Act was for the appointment of George C. Marshall in 1950. Nevertheless, Congress approved the waiver, and on January 20, 2017, Mattis was confirmed by the Senate by a 98–1 vote. He was sworn in later that day.
Mattis served as an example of professionalism and stability in a White House that was characterized by unpredictability, infighting, and frequent staff turnover. As tensions rose between Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in 2017, Mattis reportedly forged a “suicide pact” with Tillerson and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, whereby if one were forced out, all three would resign. Although Tillerson was fired in March 2018, Mattis and Mnuchin remained in their positions. In June 2018 Trump announced that the United States would suspend joint military exercises with South Korea, a move that apparently took the Pentagon by surprise. Mattis, who had made combat readiness one of his main priorities, was forced to reconcile Trump’s statements with the historic United States commitment to the military security of South Korea. Although joint exercises resumed months later, the public disconnect between Trump and Mattis revealed a widening breach between the two.
In December 2018 Trump announced that he would withdraw United States troops from Syria, where they were conducting anti-terrorism operations. That decision was made over the vehement objections of Trump’s senior advisers, and the following day Mattis announced that he would resign in protest, effective February 28, 2019. In his resignation letter Mattis stated that his “views on treating allies with respect and also being clear-eyed about both malign actors and strategic competitors are strongly held” and that Trump should have “a Secretary of Defense whose views are better aligned with (Trump’s) on these and other subjects.” The letter made headlines and drew the ire of the president, who forced Mattis to leave office on December 31, 2018, some two months earlier than expected.
Religion
Mattis is a Catholic, and has been described as "devout" and "committed." During the 2003 Iraq invasion, he often prayed with general John F. Kelly on Sundays. The Trump transition team's formal biography of Mattis described him as "the living embodiment of the Marine Corps motto, Semper Fidelis." He has declined when asked by reporters to discuss his faith in public. In a 2003 PBS interview, Mattis recalled how his Marines followed advice from his chaplain on gaining the support of Iraqi citizens: "On the suggestion of my Catholic chaplain the Marines would take chilled drinking water in bottles and walk out amongst the protesters and hand it out. It is just hard to throw a rock at somebody who has given you a cold drink of water and it's 120 degrees outside."
Politics
Israeli–Palestinian peace process. Mattis supports a two-state solution model for Israeli–Palestinian peace. He has said the situation in Israel is "unsustainable" and that Israeli settlements harm prospects for peace and could lead to an apartheid-like situation in the West Bank. In particular, he has said that the perception of biased American support for Israel has made it difficult for moderate Arabs to show support for the United States. Mattis strongly supported Secretary of State John Kerry on the Middle East peace process, praising Kerry for being "wisely focused like a laser beam" on a two-state solution.
Iran and Middle Eastern allies. Mattis believes Iran is the principal threat to the stability of the Middle East, ahead of Al-Qaeda and ISIS. Mattis says: "I consider ISIS nothing more than an excuse for Iran to continue its mischief. Iran is not an enemy of ISIS. They have a lot to gain from the turmoil in the region that ISIS creates." Mattis sees the Iran nuclear deal as a poor agreement, but believes there is now no way to tear it up, saying: "We are just going to have to recognize that we have an imperfect arms control agreement. Second, that what we achieved is a nuclear pause, not a nuclear halt". Mattis argues that inspections may fail to prevent Iran from seeking to develop nuclear weapons, but that "if nothing else at least we will have better targeting data if it comes to a fight in the future." Additionally, he criticized Obama for being "naive" about Iranian intentions and Congress for being "pretty much absent" on the nuclear deal.
Mattis praises the friendship of regional US allies such as Jordan, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates. He also criticized Obama for seeing allies as "free-loading", saying: "For a sitting United States President to see our allies as freeloaders is nuts." He has cited the importance of the United Arab Emirates and Jordan as countries that wanted to help, for example, in filling in the gaps in Afghanistan. He criticized Obama's defense strategy as giving "the perception we're pulling back" from US allies. He stresses the need for the US to bolster its ties with allied intelligence agencies, particularly those of Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. In 2012, Mattis argued for providing weapons to Syrian rebels as a way to fight back against Iranian proxies in Syria.
The departure of several of Mattis's senior deputies in the fall of 2018 caused concern in foreign policy circles. Many senior officials served only because of Mattis and fought political battles with the White House regularly. One of the most serious areas of concern has been the potential for war with Iran because of the Trump Administration's withdrawal from the JCPOA at the same time the United States military is redeploying forces from the Middle East to the Pacific to better compete with China and contain North Korea.
Japan. Mattis visited Japan one week after being sworn in as Secretary of Defense. During a meeting with Prime Minister Shinzō Abe, Mattis emphasized that the United States remains committed to the mutual defense of Japan and stated, "I want there to be no misunderstanding during the transition in Washington that we stand firmly, 100 percent, shoulder to shoulder with you and the Japanese people."
Mattis reassured Japan that the United States would defend the disputed Senkaku Islands controlled by Japan but also claimed by China and Taiwan.
Russia. Speaking at a conference sponsored by The Heritage Foundation in Washington in 2015, Mattis said he believed that Russian President Vladimir Putin's intent is "to break NATO apart." Mattis has also spoken out against what he perceives as Russia's expansionist or bellicose policies in Syria, Ukraine and the Baltic states. In 2017, Mattis said that the world order is "under biggest attacks since World War Two, from Russia, terrorist groups, and China's actions in the South China Sea."
On February 16, 2017, Mattis said the United States was not currently prepared to collaborate with Russia on military matters, including future anti-ISIS United States operations. In August 2017, he said: "Despite Russia's denials, we know they are seeking to redraw international borders by force, undermining the sovereign and free nations of Europe".
China. Mattis called for freedom of navigation in the South China Sea and criticized China's island-building activities, saying: "The bottom line is (...) the international waters are international waters."
Views
In 2017, Mattis said that budget cuts would hamper the ability to monitor the impact of climate change, and noted, "climate change is a challenge that requires a broader, whole-of-government response."
Quotations: "It’s quite fun to shoot them, you know. It’s a hell of a hoot. It’s fun to shoot some people."
"There are some assholes in the world that just need to be shot."
"I come in peace. I didn’t bring artillery. But I’m pleading with you, with tears in my eyes: If you fuck with me, I’ll kill you all."
"Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet."
"There are some people who think you have to hate them in order to shoot them. I don’t think you do."
"In a country with millions of people and cars going everywhere, the enemy is going to get a car bomb out there once in awhile."
"PowerPoint makes us stupid."
"I get a lot of credit these days for things I never did."
“Engage your brain before you engage your weapon.”
Membership
In August 2013, he became an Annenberg Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution and has since been named as their Davies Family Distinguished Visiting Fellow.
Hoover Institution
Personality
Although known for blunt, sometimes provocative speech (in 2005 he described members of the Taliban as “fun to shoot”), Mattis was described by his peers as a “warrior monk” who embraced the Clausewitzian view of war as a political instrument.
Physical Characteristics: Height: 1.75 m
Quotes from others about the person
“"Jim Mattis I first met when I went to the Pentagon. He was a young colonel. And as Senator Nunn has pointed out, he had a reputation even then. This is somebody to watch. He is young. He is smart. He does not really belong behind a desk, although he may belong there right now, but at that time, he wanted to get out into the field. He is a warrior by nature... But that is really not why we are here. If he were only a great warrior, you would say, well, there are a lot of other warriors as well. He comes because he is a man of thought, as well as action. And sometimes it is said you can judge people by the friends he makes, the company he keeps, but also by the books he reads. General Mattis has some 6,000 books in his library, most of which, if not all of them, he has read, and he can refer to either Alexander the Great, General Grant, Sun Tzu. And I suspect he is probably the only one here at this table who can hear the words “Thucydides Trap” and not have to go to Wikipedia to find out what it means. And so he is a scholar as well and a strategic thinker as well as a great warrior." - William Cohen”
Connections
Mattis has never been married and has no children. He proposed to a woman, but she called off the wedding days before it was to occur, not wanting to burden his career. He is nicknamed "The Warrior Monk" because of his bachelorhood and lifelong devotion to the study of war."
FYI MSgt David HoffmanSgt (Join to see)SFC (Join to see)
cmsgt-rickey-denickeSGT Forrest FitzrandolphLTC (Join to see)Sgt John H.SGT Robert R.SGT (Join to see)
SGT Steve McFarlandCol Carl WhickerSGT Mark Anderson
CW4 Craig UrbanSSG Michael NollSFC Jack Champion
A1C Ian WilliamsSFC Jay Thompsonaa John Zodun
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CWO3 (Join to see)
LTC Stephen F. - Sir, first let me say that General Jim Mattis is a very good friend of mine and I had the privilege to worked together during the Persian Gulf War of 1990-1991. The last time I talked with the General he was the CG, 1 MEF, Camp Pendleton CA, before leaving to Washington D.C. Always a Marine Warrior at heart to the Marines, the Mission, and Peace. Semper Fidelis General Jim Mattis!
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Cpl James R. " Jim" Gossett Jr
LTC Stephen F. - All older Marines remember "Mad Dog". He always says it like it is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
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LTC Stephen F.
Thank you my friend for sharing your personal experiences with Jim Mattis before he was a general and since CWO3 (Join to see).
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A great General, who was tough, but fair...and was what one might call a military genious... He speaks his mind, and as SECDEF, that resulted in difficulties with President Trump and He resigned... Excellent post Maj Marty Hogan !!!
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