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Newly appointed chief of Central Command General James Mattis did not get where he is today by being polite and mild mannered. Mattis, who has been nicknamed "Mad Dog" and "Chaos" and was portrayed in the HBO Iraq War drama "Generation Kill," has a reputation for blunt speaking. Really blunt speaking. Here are some choice quotes collected by the defense writers who so admire him.
"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"-Mattis
"When Gen. Abrial arrived to relieve me as the supreme commander, only don’t ask, don’t tell kept me from hugging and kissing him" #mattisms
"Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet." #mattisms
"The first time you blow someone away is not an insignificant event." #Mattisisms @thegoldfarb @attackerman @drewmtips
"I were to sum up what I've learned in 35 years of service, it's improvise, improvise, improvise." #mattisisms
"I don't get intelligence off a satellite. Iraqis tell me who the enemy is."#mattisisms
"I would also add that [Al Qaeda] was dumb." #mattisisms
"You are part of the world's most feared and trusted force. Engage your brain before you engage your weapon." Yet more #Mattisisms
no war is over until the enemy says it's over. We may think it over, we may declare it over, but in fact, the enemy gets a vote #mattisisms
"Marines don't know how to spell the word defeat" #mattisisms
"Demonstrate to the world there is 'No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy' than a U.S. Marine. " #Mattisisms
'An untrained or uneducated Marine...deployed 2 the combat zone is a bigger threat to mission accomplishment...than the enemy' #Mattisisms
"It is mostly a matter of wills. Whose will is going to break first? Ours or the enemy's?" #mattisisms
USMC COIN: "a country that armed Stalin to defeat Hitler can certainly work alongside enemies of al-Qaida to defeat al-Qaida." #mattisisms
"Be the hunter, not the hunted: Never allow your unit to be caught with its guard down." #Mattisisms
"In a country with millions of people & cars going everywhere, the enemy is going to get a car bomb out there once in a while." #mattisisms
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