That's "Mad Dog" Mattis, USMC, who has been nominated by the president to be the next Commander of the U. S. Central Command, replacing General David Petraeus, who replaced General Stanley McChrystal in Afghanistan, so Mattis will be Petraeus's boss. Most of the media are calling Mattis "controversial" in part because of the following quote from a speech he gave at a leadership seminar in 2005. Here's the quote:
“Actually, it’s a lot of fun to fight. You know it’s a helluva hoot. I’ll be right up front with you. I like brawling. You go into Afghanistan, you get guys who slap women around for five years because they didn’t wear a veil … guys like that ain’t got no manhood left anyway. So it’s a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them.”
So what's so controversial about that? According to Mackubin Thomas Owens, in the below linked article from National Review Online, General Mattis is probably the finest Marine combat leader since the legendary Chesty Puller. That is, indeed, saying something. Owens is a professor at The Naval War College and a Marine combat veteran of the Vietnam War.
General Mattis Moves to CENTCOM - Mackubin Thomas Owens - National Review Online
SEMPER FI!
