A biography for Jim Mattishasn’t been written yet.
“Gains achieved at great cost against our enemy in Afghanistan are reversible.”
“No matter how bad any situation, cynicism has no positive impact. Watching the news, you might notice that cynicism and victimhood often seem to go hand-in-hand, but not for veterans.”
“The most important 6 inches on the battlefield is between your ears.”
“PowerPoint makes us stupid.”
“There is only one 'retirement plan' for terrorists.”
“What is the one country in the Middle East that has not been attacked by ISIS? One. That is Iran. That is more than happenstance, I'm sure.”
“For a sitting U.S. president to see our allies as freeloaders is nuts.”
“Thanks to my reading, I have never been caught flat-footed by any situation, never at a loss for how any problem has been addressed... It doesn't give me all the answers, but it lights what is often a dark path ahead.”
“For whatever trauma came with service in tough circumstances, we should take what we learned - take our post-traumatic growth - and, like past generations coming home, bring our sharpened strengths to bear, bring our attitude of gratitude to bear.”
“I like the enemy knowing there are a few guys like me around.”
“Perhaps if you are in support functions waiting on the warfighters to spell out the specifics of what you are to do, you can avoid the consequences of not reading. Those who must adapt to overcoming an independent enemy's will are not allowed that luxury.”
“There's no way that that our military power will not erode if a robust American economic revival is not part of the cards.”
“You stay teachable most by reading books. By reading what other people went through.”
“Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet.”
“There are a lot of self-imposed restrictions by people who somehow believe they have to fall in with a certain military cant. There was always a sense that we had to put things into words that would touch our troops' hearts, not just their heads.”
“Notifying the enemy in advance of our withdrawal dates or reassuring the enemy that we will not use certain capabilities like our ground forces should be avoided.”
“It's a lot of fun to fight.”
“The fundamental question I believe is, 'Is political Islam in our best interest?' If not, what is our policy to authoritatively support the countervailing forces?”
“Sometimes there are no good guys. There are no bad guys. It seems like everybody is in the middle.”
“No one gives a damn what Iran thinks on any significant issue. The only reason Iran is at the big boys' table is because of their nuclear weapons program.”