'Killing enthusiast' to replace Petraeus'
Courtesy Press TV
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates has named James Mattis, a four-star Marine general known for his blunt speech, as the new head of US Central Command.
Mattis is an erudite combat veteran known for quoting poetry and openly expressing his enthusiasm for "killing the enemy," Los Angeles Times reported on Thursday.
The nomination that was announced on Thursday brought Secretary Gates under fire for choosing a general who was officially rebuked over his remarks in 2005 regarding the killing of Afghans.
"Actually, it's a lot of fun to fight," the Los Angeles Times quoted Mattis as saying. "You know, it's a hell of a hoot... It's fun to shoot some people. I'll be right upfront with you. I like brawling."
Gates, however, dismissed the criticism saying that those comments were made five years ago, and that "appropriate action was taken at the time", The New York Times reported.
Calling Mattis one of the best combat leaders and strategic thinkers and praising him for his insight into warfare, Gates said that he spoke about the issue with Mattis and was assured that the general will be careful.
If the nomination is approved by the Senate, Mattis will replace Gen. David Petraeus who took command of NATO forces in Afghanistan last week. Gen. Mattis is currently in charge of the military's Joint Forces Command in Norfolk, Virginia.
Petraeus replaces Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who was was effectively fired for remarks he and his aides made to a reporter for Rolling Stone about President Barack Obama and other US officials.
As head of Central Command, Mattis would oversee US military operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as across the Middle East, including Iraq. In his new position, Mattis technically would be Petraeus' boss.
Article Source: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=...
NATO facing tough fight in Afghanistan
General James Mattis, nominated to command the US forces in the Middle East, says NATO faces months of difficult fighting and a loss of credibility in Afghanistan.
"I believe it's going to be a difficult summer right into the fall," Mattis warned on Tuesday.
The four-star general nicknamed the "Warrior Monk," is the man who had controversially said in a 2005 interview that it was "fun" to kill people in Afghanistan.
Now, Mattis is facing a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing to replace General David Petraeus as head of the US Central Command.
In his Tuesday Senate address, the general stressed that US President Barack Obama's July 2011 deadline to start withdrawing troops from Afghanistan is only the start of a process.
He, however, pledged to hand over control of Afghanistan to Afghan troops based on conditions on the ground.
Mattis' remarks resemble comments by the US chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, who had earlier acknowledged that the mid 2011 deadline did not single a retreat from the region.
Mullen had also stressed that there would be no change in the Afghan war strategy, despite the recent leak of tens of thousands of classified US military documents.
Many of the files released on the WikiLeaks website detail how US-led forces have killed or wounded Afghan civilians in unreported attacks. The documents reportedly contain information that could amount to war crimes in Afghanistan.
The leak, which is considered as one of the largest security breaches in US military history, has angered the White House.
However, US military officials have tried to downplay the impact of the massive leak, saying that it did not reveal anything new about the nature of the war in Afghanistan.
Interestingly, Mullen said on Tuesday that the Obama administration had considered all the documents during its review of the Afghan war strategy last year.
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Officer Candidate School Prep 2011 - The First Hourby MidwestMarines46,254 views
whoever loaded this is an idiot. They mis-quoted the General and it even shows they're "quoting" text that he never even says at the end. If you want to know what he really says, look up his speech and see how these idiots have edited it to make it out to be like the General is some monster. Get some, Sir!
michelleandalon 3 weeks ago
Semper Fi!!!!
ICrySemperFi 6 months ago
Oorah General
DiltzM90 8 months ago
What a BAMF!
OCM117 1 year ago 2
General Mattis is killing enthusiast huh? WELL NO FUCKING SHIT!
molanlabexm15 1 year ago