The Daily Breeze: Marine general forgot about his leadership role

The Daily Breeze

Tuesday, February 08, 2005

Marine general forgot about his leadership role

A true leader would not have made things worse for America by making such irresponsible remarks.


Marine Lt. Gen. James Mattis is a distinguished military man. His rank alone is testimony to that.

As a task force commander, Mattis led his forces hundreds of miles into Afghanistan to establish bases shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He has served two tours in Iraq. During the first, he led the Camp Pendleton-based 1st Marine Division on a rapid race against time from Kuwait into Baghdad. He has served a total of nine tours in the Middle East.

Mattis is a fighter and a leader. As a fighter, he told a group of about 200 military leaders and defense contractors on Tuesday: "It's fun to shoot some people."

Responding to a question about fighting Iraqi insurgents, Mattis said: "Actually, it's a lot of fun to fight. You know, it's a hell of a hoot. ... It's fun to shoot some people. I'll be right up front with you, I like brawling."

He added: "You go into Afghanistan. You got guys who slap women around 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."

Evan Wright, a journalist who was embedded with Mattis' forces in Iraq, said last week that what Mattis revealed was the mind-set of a fighting man. He is right. Most of us could not bring ourselves to do what Mattis does and teaches others to do. But Mattis is also a leader. In that capacity, his remarks cannot be understood or dismissed.

The eyes of the world have been on our government and on our fighting forces since we entered Afghanistan in 2001. Many in the Muslim world already think the worst about the American government. A leader would not have made things worse with such irresponsible remarks.





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