Vanity: The silly way we reward our Generals

Tha San Francisco Chronicle ^ | February 6, 2005

[ILL]

Mattis told about 200 people at the San Diego Convention Center: "Actually, it's a lot of fun to fight, 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."

Do we mean to say they shouldn't use all the goodies they were given in order to kill the enemy? Hell no. They should kill as many of the enemy as possible. A verbal "faux pas" is not something that these generals are schooled at. If they were schooled as politicians they would have given us some sort of a hogwash story how heartbreaking it was to kill an Iraqi unit that set their convoy with road blasts. Sorry, but I just don't buy it. Rush to judgment has traditionally been easy for all of us and moralizing has never won a war. OK, he was a little too open or clumsy but he's not paid to be a speaker, his job was to command a unit in combat. If he's ever judged for anything that should be the scope of our interests. It is unacceptable to train these men to kill and later hold them liable for having killed (who cares if they enjoyed it or not). Such similar stupidities have befallen some other great American generals like William Tecumseh Sherman, George S Patton Jr. and Dwight D. Eisenhower. During their tenure they were severly criticized but after a few decades have elapsed we glorified their exploits. Let's not be that hasty and that hypocritical. We trained these people to do exactly what the General said he was doing, and we equipped them with plenty of toys to accomplish that goal (kill as many of the enemy as possible).

[devildogoz]

And what makes this even better is that now LtGen Mattis has been assigned as the Commander of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command at Quantico...... where he can help influence the doctrine and attitudes of the rest of the true Warriors in the Corps!

One can only hope that the movie next year re the first battle of Fallujah, w Harrison Ford playing Mattis, will do him some justice

[JCRoberts]

Nobody can tell me that a Harvard graduate does not know the difference between NU-KuhL-ARRR and NUCLEAR. This "dumb as a fox" system works well at home, within the large voting blocs, and the masses identify with him readily, but the rest of us find a small discrepancy like that can be attached to his credibility - which I feel is beyond reproach.

Sorry, but anyone using this name as a post name may echo the sentiment that our President's credibility is beyond reproach. Probably not one of us. (See Post 58) Further:

I fear that many of W's measures will be appreciated in the future.>

Do you fear? I don't.

[Twinkie]

Gee,

No tiptoeing around the tulips for this guy, is it? - and bad news for the Jihadists - - - there are many more like him, and not all of them are even in the military.

[mdmathis6]

I think HE is a SHE...she has a web site(http://www.iliya.us/)!

[MeekOneGOP]

Welcome to FreeRepublic.com.

[JCRoberts]

I disagree.

iliya Pavlovich PhD
...Along with his collosal work experience Iliya has pursued a degree in Comparative Sociology, and subsequently awarded a PhD in 2004, sociological research, communications, backlash to conservativism, re-birth of humanism, newer new age approach to purely human issues, while he wrote on topics as

[Donald Rumsfeld Fan]

"W's main drawback is acting dumb. Nobody can tell me that a Harvard graduate does not know the difference between NU-KuhL-ARRR and NUCLEAR. This "dumb as a fox" system works well at home, within the large voting blocs, and the masses identify with him readily, but the rest of us find a small discrepancy like that can be attached to his credibility - which I feel is beyond reproach."

It's called "stratergy".

[shubi]

I went to public schools. I was sort of joking. Not entirely. But, heck, I am not going to apologize for doing what the general just did. I am just as right as he was.
LOL

This hypersensitivity the left has promulgated is getting way out of hand. We need to start telling Polish jokes again and turn this situation around.

[shubi]

strategery

[shubi]

War is a heck of a lot of fun.

It reminds me of Patton's quote about, it is a good thing war is so horrible, or he would love it too much.

[b4its2late]

PhD = Piled higher and Deeper.

[phoenix0468]

Especially when they are shooting at you.

[CouncilofTrent]

.....And the international troll conspiracy to sap and impurify our precious bodily fluids.

[phoenix0468]

Dirty Harry: "Go ahead, punk, make my day!!"

[SolidRedState]

And this will make it a lot easier to kill the bad guys...

[CAluvdubya]

I liked what the general said as well. (Pattonesque)p I also went to publick skools and i are a gud spelr! :)

[Slings and Arrows]

I think PHD means "Piled higher and deeper".

Posthole Digger.

[em2vn]

i'm sure that is what recruits are told at the San Diego MCRD. Marines are taught to fight and they know that from day one.

[ExtremeUnction]

I had a lot of fun blasting the enemy to smithereens in Nam with 5" precision naval gunfire.

At Duc Pho (if I recall, Operation Desoto) we lowered the barrels of our artillery pieces, aiming right at the tree line. We had lost 7 Marines to mortars and had gooks in the wire. In the morning we all got to see what flechette rounds can really do. All we saw, (and unfortunately had to pick up for disposal) were arms and legs and heads and shoes.

[phoenix0468]

It was probably more to the tune of:

"General, you can say that in the company of other Marines, but when you are in the company of treasonous liberal media trolls, keep that kind of crap to yourself."

Along with a supportive pat on the back.

I know if I ever come accross this guy, I'm gonna shake his hand and thank him for his enthusiasm.