Mattis (to Iraqi village elders):
‘I come in peace. I didn’t bring artillery. But I’m pleading with you, with tears in my eyes: If you f&*% with me, I’ll kill you all.’
To his Marines in Iraq:
‘Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet.’
I remember my own grandfather’s great combat advice: “When they’re shooting at you, duck.”