James Mattis Quotes
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The most important 6 inches on the battlefield is between your ears.
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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.
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It's a lot of fun to fight.
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The example that America knows how to govern itself is one of the compelling aspects of our national security.
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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.
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In my line of work, the enemy gets a vote.
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It is not scientifically possible to accurately predict the outcome of an action. To suggest otherwise runs contrary to historical experience and the nature of war.
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Basically, Islamic State is a combined al Qaeda and Lebanese Hezbollah on steroids, destabilizing the region, dissolving borders/changing the political geography in the Mid-east, and hardening political positions that make Mid-east peace-building more remote by the day.
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Marines don't know how to spell the word 'defeat'.
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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.
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Demonstrate to the world, there is 'No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy' than a U.S. Marine.
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The Iranian regime, in my mind, is the single most enduring threat to stability and peace in the Middle East.
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By reading, you learn through others' experiences, generally, a better way to do business, especially in our line of work where the consequences of incompetence are so final for young men.
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Some people feel affronted when something they thought to be true doesn't happen. If that's the case, then your sense of risk is much higher, and that leads to risk aversion. You need to be able to be comfortable in uncertainty.
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I believe that many of my young guys lived because I didn't waste their lives because I didn't have the vision in my mind of how to destroy the enemy at least cost to our guys and to the innocents on the battlefields.
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So long as our Corps fields such Marines, America has nothing to fear from tyrants, be they Fascists, Communists or Tyrants with Medieval Ideology. For we serve in a Corps with no institutional confusion about our purpose: To fight! To fight well!
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I've lived a very colorful life, and I've said some things, But not once have I taken them back, and I've never apologized for them - and I won't.
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I've always found, give me a pack of cigarettes and a couple of beers, and I do better with that than I do with torture.
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For the mission's sake, for our country's sake, and the sake of the men who carried the Division's colors in past battles - carry out your mission and keep your honor clean.
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In an interconnected age when opportunistic adversaries can work in tandem to destroy stability and prosperity, our country needs to regain its strategic footing. We need to bring the clarity to our efforts before we lose the confidence of the American people and the support of potential allies.
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I have never been bewildered for long in any fight with our enemies - I was Armed with Insight.
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There are going to be good days and bad days. Bottom line.
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Ultimately, a real understanding of history means that we face nothing new under the sun.
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Don't create more enemies than you take out by some immoral act.