US defense secretary nominee boasts 'plan to kill everybody you meet'

The US nominee for the next Secretary of Defense Retired General James “Mad Dog” Mattis is boasting about enjoying the killing of what he regards as the enemy, explaining his life philosophy as “Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet.” 

Such remarks by the US President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the American military in his administration were cited in a Saturday report by the Hill news outlet, citing the former marine general, also known for his anti-Iran positions.

Mattis, who emerged from the US-led military occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan as “one of the most revered figures in the Marines, winning a legion of fans for his blunt and colorful quotes,” also prompted rebuke from his superiors in 2005 when he boasted about enjoying killing the enemy.

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

He was also admonished for saying in 2001 that “the Marines have landed, and we now own a piece of Afghanistan.” 

Mattis, who currently works as a fellow at the conservative Hoover Institution at Stanford University, most recently served as the head of the US Central Command (Centcom), the geographic combatant command that is in charge of US wars in the Middle East region.

He commanded the Centcom from 2010 to 2013, a period that witnessed the drawdown of US forces in Iraq, a surge of American troops in Afghanistan and the start of the foreign-backed war aimed at overthrowing the Syrian government.  

According to the report, toward the end of his tenure, Mattis clashed with the Obama administration over the P5+1 nuclear deal with Iran. Reports at the time of his retirement speculated that the White House forced the general out due to his disputes over the administration’s Iran strategy.

Moreover, he described Iran in an April conference as “the single most enduring threat to peace and stability in the Mideast," a view shared only the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as reported by the US-based military.com

More recently, however, Mattis stated that negotiation with Iran over its civilian nuclear program “was not without some merit,” adding that scrapping the deal now is not an option “absent a clear violation.” But he still warned that Iran remains “a threat.”

The general, however, has a stronger view on Russia than the US president-elect -- who repeatedly praises President Vladimir Putin – and has accused him of trying to “break NATO apart."  

The confirmation of Mattis by US lawmakers is expected to be challenging, however,  with only three years of retirement under his belt, he will need Congress to approve a waiver exempting him from a constitutional law that mandates the defense secretary must be out of uniform for at least seven years. 

But Mattis, according to local press reports, is deeply respected among military veterans in the US legislature who are expected to lead support for the waiver. Republican Senator and Vietnam veteran John McCain, for instance, has said he will write the bill that gives Mattis a pass. 

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk