Norfolk-based pick for Central Command known for bluntness

By Ken Dilanian, McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON

Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis, an erudite combat veteran known for quoting poetry and openly expressing his enthusiasm for "killing the enemy," has been picked to take over U.S. Central Command, the Pentagon announced Thursday.

Mattis would replace Gen. David Petraeus, who is in Afghanistan as the U.S. and NATO's top military officer there. Petraeus took over after Gen. Stanley McChrystal was removed by President Barack Obama on June 23 in the wake of a Rolling Stone article that quoted McChrystal and his staff mocking U.S. civilian leaders.

Mattis is currently the head of Norfolk -based Joint Forces Command, which coordinates strategy, conducts war games and oversees troop deployments. In June, he was passed over for the job of commandant of the Marine Corps in favor of Gen. James Amos.

As head of Central Command, Mattis would oversee U.S. military operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as across the Middle East, including Iraq and Iran. In his new position, Mattis technically would be Petraeus' boss.

The job requires Senate confirmation.

U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., who was meeting with Mattis in the general's Norfolk office during Gates' announcement, said he's pleased with the selection.

"I think the president made the right decision," Warner said. "He chose the right guy at the right time."

Warner, whose session with Mattis was unrelated to the announcement, said the Marine general, in addition to being a seasoned combat veteran, has a good understanding of newer defense tools, including modeling and simulation technology.

"I think he's very bright," Warner said. "He's got a very modern view of the challenges that we face."

Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters that he was impressed with the general's "strategic insight and independent thinking."

Mattis is a general seemingly straight out of central casting, a gravel-voiced warrior best known for leading troops into the bloody battle of Fallujah in Iraq in 2004.

Fond of quoting Shakespeare, Clausewitz and Sun Tsu, he tends to speak bluntly of the harsh realities of war. His candor got him in trouble in 2005, when he asserted in a public speech in San Diego that it was "fun to shoot some people."

Mattis, a three-star general at the time, told the audience that some Afghans deserved to die.

"Actually, it's a lot of fun to fight," he said. "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. 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."

His comments evoked laughter and applause from some present, but his then-boss, Gen. Mike Hagee, asked him to watch his words in public.

Gates said Thursday he raised the issue with Mattis during the job interview and was confident that the general will be careful.

"I think the subsequent five years have demonstrated that the lesson was learned," he said.

Nonetheless, Mattis has continued to tell reporters that his main job is to "kill the enemy."

Considered one of the military's premier strategic thinkers, he is also a deft political operator. Among the members of his advisory board at joint forces command have been Republican Newt Gingrich and Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Although Petraeus gets much of the credit for authoring the counterinsurgency doctrine that governs military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, Mattis had significant input.