bobdina
07-10-2010, 01:44 PM
New U.S. commander on why ‘it’s fun to shoot some people’
National Post July 9, 2010 – 11:04 am
The man replacing Gen. David Petraeus as new head of US Central Command kind of reminds me of Gen. Rick Hillier.
General (ret’d) Hillier:
…
“These are detestable murderers and scumbags, I’ll tell you that right up front. They detest our freedoms, they detest our society, they detest our liberties,”..
“We’re not the public service of Canada, we’re not just another department. We are the Canadian Forces, and our job is to be able to kill people.”..
USMC General James Mattis:
…
Fond of quoting Shakespeare, Carl von Clausewitz and Sun Tzu, he tends to speak bluntly of the harsh realities of war. His candor got him in trouble in 2005 when he asserted in a 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 upfront 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 some laughter and applause, but his then-boss, Gen. Michael Hagee, asked him to watch his words in public.
Gates said Thursday that 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.”..
On the other hand current COIN rules in Afstan rather restrict killing the enemy so as not to alienate the populace. A fine line, eh? But do the numbers really warrant the worry?
…There have been 197 civilian fatalities caused by NATO forces, including U.S. troops, in the 12 months since the directive was issued, compared with 332 in the previous year…
That is in a country of some 30 million. Many more die in traffic accidents each year (and I’d wager the figures are low).
Read more: http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2010/07/09/mark-collins-new-u-s-commander-on-why-it%E2%80%99s-fun-to-shoot-some-people/#ixzz0tIoxLd00
National Post July 9, 2010 – 11:04 am
The man replacing Gen. David Petraeus as new head of US Central Command kind of reminds me of Gen. Rick Hillier.
General (ret’d) Hillier:
…
“These are detestable murderers and scumbags, I’ll tell you that right up front. They detest our freedoms, they detest our society, they detest our liberties,”..
“We’re not the public service of Canada, we’re not just another department. We are the Canadian Forces, and our job is to be able to kill people.”..
USMC General James Mattis:
…
Fond of quoting Shakespeare, Carl von Clausewitz and Sun Tzu, he tends to speak bluntly of the harsh realities of war. His candor got him in trouble in 2005 when he asserted in a 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 upfront 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 some laughter and applause, but his then-boss, Gen. Michael Hagee, asked him to watch his words in public.
Gates said Thursday that 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.”..
On the other hand current COIN rules in Afstan rather restrict killing the enemy so as not to alienate the populace. A fine line, eh? But do the numbers really warrant the worry?
…There have been 197 civilian fatalities caused by NATO forces, including U.S. troops, in the 12 months since the directive was issued, compared with 332 in the previous year…
That is in a country of some 30 million. Many more die in traffic accidents each year (and I’d wager the figures are low).
Read more: http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2010/07/09/mark-collins-new-u-s-commander-on-why-it%E2%80%99s-fun-to-shoot-some-people/#ixzz0tIoxLd00