A four-star Marine General known equally for blunt speech, combat prowess and understanding counterinsurgency warfare will be nominated to command American forces across West Asia, officials said Thursday.
Defence Secretary Robert M. Gates described the nominee, General James N. Mattis, as “one of our military's outstanding combat leaders and strategic thinkers, bringing an essential mix of experience, judgment and perspective to this important post.”
If confirmed by the Senate as the top officer of the military's Central Command, General Mattis would be in charge of American military forces in a strategic area from Egypt through Pakistan, and from Central Asia past the Persian Gulf.
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General Mattis would replace General David H. Petraeus, whose tour at Central Command was cut short when President Barack Obama asked him to take over the allied mission in Afghanistan after General Stanley A. McChrystal was relieved for comments he made to
For his part, General Mattis has gotten in trouble for past observations on a life of combat. In 2005, he received an official rebuke for comments that included “it's a lot of fun to fight.”
“You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap around women for five years because they didn't wear a veil,” he said while speaking at a forum in San Diego. “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.”
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