Trump to nominate retired Gen. James Mattis to lead Pentagon

[webfact]

Trump to nominate retired Gen. James Mattis to lead Pentagon

By LOLITA C. BALDOR

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump said Thursday he will nominate retired Gen. James Mattis to be his defense secretary, making the announcement at a post-election victory rally in Cincinnati.

 

Mattis, 66, is a Marine Corps general who retired in 2013 after serving as the commander of the U.S. Central Command.

 

His selection raises questions about increased military influence in a job designed to insure civilian control of the armed forces. The concerns revolve around whether a recently retired service member would rely more on military solutions to international problems, rather than take a broader, more diplomatic approach.

 

For Mattis to be confirmed, Congress would first have to approve legislation bypassing a law that bars retired military officers from becoming defense secretary within seven years of leaving active duty.

 

Mattis has a reputation as a battle-hardened, tough-talking Marine who was entrusted with some of the most challenging commands in the U.S. military. In a tweet last month, Trump referred to Mattis by his nickname "Mad Dog" and described him as "A true General's General!"

 

Mattis would be only the second retired general to serve as defense secretary, the first being George C. Marshall in 1950-51 during the Korean War. Marshall was a much different figure, having previously served as U.S. secretary of state and playing a key role in creating closer ties with Western Europe after World War II.

 

The only previous exception to the law requiring a gap after military service was for Marshall.

 

Although his record in combat and his credentials as a senior commander are widely admired, Mattis has little experience in the diplomatic aspects of the job of secretary of defense.

 

Richard Fontaine, president of the Center for a New American Security, described Mattis as a defense intellectual and as a military leader who distinguished himself in combat.

 

"He knows the Middle East, South Asia, NATO and other areas and has evinced both a nuanced approach to the wars we're in and an appreciation for the importance of allies," Fontaine said in an email exchange. "If he were to get the nomination, I suspect that he could attract a number of very talented people to work with him."

 

But Mattis hasn't been immune to controversy. He was criticized for remarking in 2005 that he enjoyed shooting people. He also drew more recent scrutiny for his involvement with the embattled biotech company Theranos, where he serves on the board.

Born in Pullman, Washington, Mattis enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1969, later earning a history degree from Central Washington University. He was commissioned as an officer in 1972. As a lieutenant colonel, Mattis led an assault battalion into Kuwait during the first U.S. war with Iraq in 1991.

 

As head of the Central Command from 2010 until his retirement in 2013, he was in charge of both the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, Mattis commanded the Marines who launched an early amphibious assault into Afghanistan and established a U.S. foothold in the Taliban heartland.

 

As the first wave of Marines moved toward Kandahar, Mattis declared that, "The Marines have landed, and now we own a piece of Afghanistan."

 

Two years later, he helped lead the invasion into Iraq in 2003 as the two-star commander of the 1st Marine Division.

 

In 2005, he raised eyebrows when he told a San Diego forum that it was "fun to shoot some people."

 

According to a recording of his remarks, 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," Mattis continued. "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."

 

Mattis was counselled to choose his words more carefully.

 

A year later, Mattis came under scrutiny during one of the more high-profile criminal investigations of the Iraq war, the shooting deaths of 24 Iraqis by Marines.

 

The Iraqis, who included unarmed women and children, were killed by Marines in the town of Haditha after one of their comrades was killed by a roadside bomb. Eight Marines were charged in connection with the killings — four enlisted men were charged with unpremeditated murder and four officers who weren't there at the time were accused of failures in investigating and reporting the deaths.

 

As commander of the accused Marines' parent unit, the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, Mattis ultimately dismissed charges against most of the Marines.

 

As a top Marine general, Mattis pushed for the military to adopt blood-testing technology developed by Theranos.

 

As reported by The Washington Post , Mattis first met Theranos founder Elizabeth A. Holmes in 2011. A year later, according to emails obtained by The Post, Holmes used her connection to Mattis to pressure him to intervene after a Pentagon official raised concerns that the company was distributing its technology without approval by the Food and Drug Administration.

 

The emails show within hours after Holmes asked Mattis for help, he forwarded her email to other military officials asking them,"how do we overcome this new obstacle."

 

Mattis joined the Theranos board the same year he retired. The company, which raised hundreds of millions of dollars on the promise of breakthrough blood-testing technology, was forced to invalidate two years of patients' test results after the reliability of its proprietary blood-testing machinery was questioned by internal and government whistleblowers and investigative reporting by The Wall Street Journal.

___

Associated Press writers Chad Day and Robert Burns contributed to this report.

 

-- © Associated Press 2016-12-02

[KarenBravo]

Just great.......the world's most powerful military run by a bloke who's name is "Mad Dog".

[hawker9000]

1 hour ago, KarenBravo said:

Just great.......the world's most powerful military run by a bloke who's name is "Mad Dog".

Oh get over it.  Geez.  It's not his name, oh great military sensei:  the military is and always has been chock full of callsigns, aliases, etc.   I actually used to fly with a guy whose callsign actually was exactly that. 

 

Just great......another mindless backbiter sharing their deep military insight. 

[KarenBravo]

1 minute ago, hawker9000 said:

Oh get over it.  Geez.  It's not his name, oh great military sensei:  the military is and always has been chock full of callsigns, aliases, etc.   I actually used to fly with a guy whose callsign actually was exactly that. 

 

Just great......another mindless backbiter sharing their deep military insight. 

 

Righto Maverick......whatever you say.

[silent]

1 hour ago, KarenBravo said:

Just great.......the world's most powerful military run by a bloke who's name is "Mad Dog".

Just  more strange bedfellows.for the Dr. Strangelove reality show..  

 

[Penicillin]

1 hour ago, KarenBravo said:

Just great.......the world's most powerful military run by a bloke who's name is "Mad Dog".

Yeah , huhu, this is terrible !   We want a ISIS fighting Marine DOD General who's moniker is "Pussycat" !!

 

[elgordo38]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

In 2005, he raised eyebrows when he told a San Diego forum that it was "fun to shoot some people."

 

Sounds like a real winner folks. Should go good along with Trumps slogan. "We will make debt great again"

[williamgeorgeallen]

need someone who is willing to withdraw and leave the Arabs to themselves. can still keep selling them arms and profiteering if need be.

[Just1Voice]

As a 20 year Marine veteran myself, "Mad Dog" is a Marine's Marine, and his men would follow him into hell just to slap the devil in the face. 

 

[DSJPC]

Trump is doing all the right things!...I am extremely optimistic about America's future now!!!!!!!

[hawker9000]

16 minutes ago, DSJPC said:

Trump is doing all the right things!...I am extremely optimistic about America's future now!!!!!!!

He should have his aids already at work for his first executive order to be signed 08:00 ET 21 JAN.   ...'keeping a list of all the EO's the boy statesman is busy cranking out right now and a simple statement that effective immediately, all the listed EOs are cancelled, all compliance activities by any & all federal agencies & departments are to cease, and all fees & fines collected ICW with them are to be refunded to the payers in full and immediately.             

 

...along with an apology for all inconvenience and arrogance caused by an inept federal government over the course of prior months (& years). 

 

 

[Thaidream]

I believe this is a good choice for SecDef. The US needs someone who knows how the military really works; doesn't care much about politics; and won't let the normal BS shut him down. Actually, the military is very conservative about getting into a war and most often counsels against it.  However, when you are in it- you go for the win and quick. They know getting out is the tough part.

[NickJ]

Well...I hope the first thing he oversees is the overhaul of the entire Marine Air Force......I would think alot of liberals are worried about a guy like this. A General Officer cut out of a George Patton like material. 

[AGLV0121]

1 hour ago, Penicillin said:

Yeah , huhu, this is terrible !   We want a ISIS fighting Marine DOD General who's moniker is "Pussycat" !!

 

 

Do you think that may even happen?

[Just1Voice]

Here are some of the reasons why we Marines love this guy:

“I don’t lose any sleep at night over the potential for failure. I cannot even spell the word.”

“The first time you blow someone away is not an insignificant event. That said, there are some <deleted> 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 <deleted> with me, I’ll kill you all.”

“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.”

“Marines don’t know how to spell the word defeat.”

“Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet.”

“The most important six inches on the battlefield is between your ears.”

“You are part of the world’s most feared and trusted force. Engage your brain before you engage your weapon.”

“There is nothing better than getting shot at and missed. It’s really great.”

“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. Actually it’s quite fun to fight them, you know. It’s a hell of a hoot. It’s fun to shoot some people. I’ll be right up there with you. I like brawling.”

“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."

“Demonstrate to the world there is ‘No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy’ than a U.S. Marine.”

 

 

[thaibeachlovers]

In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, Mattis commanded the Marines who launched an early amphibious assault into Afghanistan and established a U.S. foothold in the Taliban heartland.

Who writes this garbage?

[simple1]

24 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, Mattis commanded the Marines who launched an early amphibious assault into Afghanistan and established a U.S. foothold in the Taliban heartland.

Who writes this garbage?

 

  Marines count 5 new amphibious operations in 2001, all of them as part of operation ENDURING FREEDOM beginning in October when the Marines secured several airfields in Pakistan. Other operations conducted by the 15th MEU include the recovery of an Army UH-60 on October 20th, a strike operation on November 3rd in Afghanistan, and the 400 mile overland amphibious assault into Afghanistan conducted on November 25th. The 26th MEU(SOC) also conducted an operation into Afghanistan beginning on December 4th. In total the Marines list 5 amphibious operations in 2001

 

https://blog.usni.org/2009/05/25/amphibious-operations-2000-2009

 

Royal Marines also conducted amphibious operations in Afghanistan e.g.

 

http://www.militaryforum.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=36335#.WEElqdR-bAo

[thaibeachlovers]

3 minutes ago, simple1 said:

 

  Marines count 5 new amphibious operations in 2001, all of them as part of operation ENDURING FREEDOM beginning in October when the Marines secured several airfields in Pakistan. Other operations conducted by the 15th MEU include the recovery of an Army UH-60 on October 20th, a strike operation on November 3rd in Afghanistan, and the 400 mile overland amphibious assault into Afghanistan conducted on November 25th. The 26th MEU(SOC) also conducted an operation into Afghanistan beginning on December 4th. In total the Marines list 5 amphibious operations in 2001

 

https://blog.usni.org/2009/05/25/amphibious-operations-2000-2009

 

 

Royal Marines also conducted amphibious operations in Afghanistan e.g.

 

http://www.militaryforum.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=36335#.WEElqdR-bAo

 

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/amphibious

executed by coordinated action of land, sea, and air forces organized for invasion

 

I get the land and air, but there is no sea bordering Afghanistan. Unless they went up a very long river, IMO there was no amphibious assault.

[whaleboneman]

23 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

 

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/amphibious

executed by coordinated action of land, sea, and air forces organized for invasion

 

I get the land and air, but there is no sea bordering Afghanistan. Unless they went up a very long river, IMO there was no amphibious assault.

Try explaining that to people who are proud they can't spell and enjoy killing people who disagree with them. 

[Just1Voice]

7 minutes ago, whaleboneman said:

Try explaining that to people who are proud they can't spell and enjoy killing people who disagree with them. 

Boy, you take that "can't spell" comment literally, and seriously, which only shows your ignorance.  

[silent]

1 hour ago, Just1Voice said:

Here are some of the reasons why we Marines love this guy:

“I don’t lose any sleep at night over the potential for failure. I cannot even spell the word.”

“The first time you blow someone away is not an insignificant event. That said, there are some <deleted> 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 <deleted> with me, I’ll kill you all.”

“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.”

“Marines don’t know how to spell the word defeat.”

“Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet.”

“The most important six inches on the battlefield is between your ears.”

“You are part of the world’s most feared and trusted force. Engage your brain before you engage your weapon.”

“There is nothing better than getting shot at and missed. It’s really great.”

“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. Actually it’s quite fun to fight them, you know. It’s a hell of a hoot. It’s fun to shoot some people. I’ll be right up there with you. I like brawling.”

“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."

“Demonstrate to the world there is ‘No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy’ than a U.S. Marine.”

 

 

With respect, isn't that a scary thought considering the waiting in the wings Commander in Chief's public ridicule of servicemen in his campaign indicates that his own perception of what the title mad dog would likely imply, is the man's best friend. Once again no disrespect and strictly my concern based on his track record of using people with the end justifying the means more than honor.

[simple1]

48 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

 

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/amphibious

executed by coordinated action of land, sea, and air forces organized for invasion

 

I get the land and air, but there is no sea bordering Afghanistan. Unless they went up a very long river, IMO there was no amphibious assault.

 

11 minutes ago, silent said:

With respect, isn't that a scary thought considering the waiting in the wings Commander in Chief's public ridicule of servicemen in his campaign indicates that his own perception of what the title mad dog would likely imply, is the man's best friend. Once again no disrespect and strictly my concern based on his track record of using people with the end justifying the means more than honor.

 

OK. no problem, you know more that US Marine & Royal Marine commentators

[whaleboneman]

22 minutes ago, Just1Voice said:

Boy, you take that "can't spell" comment literally, and seriously, which only shows your ignorance.  

Very sorry that my subtle humour escapes you.

[Morch]

5 hours ago, KarenBravo said:

Just great.......the world's most powerful military run by a bloke who's name is "Mad Dog".

 

3 hours ago, elgordo38 said:

Sounds like a real winner folks. Should go good along with Trumps slogan. "We will make debt great again"

 

I actually think he's a good choice. Certainly better then the other names floated. The "Mad Dog" moniker ought to be taken with regard to his combat performance, not quite descriptive of his command style in general. With regard to the fun to shoot some people quote - may want to refer to the full quote and context. Might not be PC, but personally, no issues there.

 

Just don't call him Mad Dog

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-just-dont-call-him-mad-dog-2013jan19-story.html

 

About his involvement with Theranos, well yes - this does give some pause, but not sure it's quite out of the norm (without saying the norm is great). Theranos was a big thing, and a whole lot of hope and money went along with that. Perhaps more relevant are his ties with General Dynamics.

 

Would be interesting to things would work between himself, Trump and several of the other key appointments. Mattis holds some views with run contradictory to Trump's (and for example, to Flynn's).

[silent]

45 minutes ago, simple1 said:

 

 

OK. no problem, you know more that US Marine & Royal Marine commentators

It's about time you realized that genious. What the hell have you been thinking? That's what i deserve for trying to be polite

[stevenl]

There is a law in place to prevent somebody like him getting the nomination. So now the law has to be changed first.

 

Bad idea.

[simple1]

25 minutes ago, silent said:

It's about time you realized that genious. What the hell have you been thinking? That's what i deserve for trying to be polite

 

My quoting error, wasn't responding to your post

[silent]

Just now, simple1 said:

 

My quoting error, wasn't responding to your post

Thank- you I apologize, I'm sure you appreciate.

[CMNightRider]

3 hours ago, Just1Voice said:

Here are some of the reasons why we Marines love this guy:

“I don’t lose any sleep at night over the potential for failure. I cannot even spell the word.”

“The first time you blow someone away is not an insignificant event. That said, there are some <deleted> 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 <deleted> with me, I’ll kill you all.”

“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.”

“Marines don’t know how to spell the word defeat.”

“Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet.”

“The most important six inches on the battlefield is between your ears.”

“You are part of the world’s most feared and trusted force. Engage your brain before you engage your weapon.”

“There is nothing better than getting shot at and missed. It’s really great.”

“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. Actually it’s quite fun to fight them, you know. It’s a hell of a hoot. It’s fun to shoot some people. I’ll be right up there with you. I like brawling.”

“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."

“Demonstrate to the world there is ‘No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy’ than a U.S. Marine.”

 

 

 

President elect Trump is already demostrating stellar leadership skills by appointing retired General Mattis, as Defense Secretary.  Semper Fi :-)

[CMNightRider]

President elect Trump is already demostrating stellar leadership skills by appointing retired General Mattis, as Defense Secretary.  Semper Fi :-)