James Mattis Quotes

46 quotes in 556 categories

• Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everyone you meet.
• You've been told that you're broken, that you're damaged goods and should be labeled victims. I don't buy it. The truth, instead, is that you…
• We have the most skillful, firecest, and certainly the most ethical ground forces in the world... I'm not saying we have to commit right now,…
• It's quite fun to fight them, you know. It's a hell of a hoot. It's fun to shoot some people. I'll be right up front…
• No war is over until the enemy says it's over. We may think it over, we may declare it over, but in fact, the enemy…
• You cannot allow any of your people to avoid the brutal facts. If they start living in a dream world, it's going to be bad.
• If in order to kill the enemy you have to kill an innocent, don't take the shot. Don't create more enemies than you take out…
• I don't lose any sleep at night over the potential for failure. I cannot even spell the word.
• 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…
• The first time you blow someone away is not an insignificant event. That said, there are some *******s in the world that just need to…
• We've backed off in good faith to try and give you a chance to straighten this problem out. But I am going to beg with…
• There are some people who think you have to hate them in order to shoot them. I don't think you do. It's just business.
• The most important six inches on the battlefield is between your ears.
• PowerPoint makes us stupid.
• In this age, I don't care how tactically or operationally brilliant you are, if you cannot create harmony-even vicious harmony-on the battlefield based on trust…
• Find the enemy that wants to end this experiment (in American democracy) and kill every one of them until they're so sick of the killing…
• Treachery has existed as long as there's been warfare, and there's always been a few people that you couldn't trust.
• A country that armed Stalin to defeat Hitler can certainly work alongside enemies of al-Qaida to defeat al-Qaida.
• Fight with a happy heart.
• You are part of the world's most feared and trusted force. Engage your brain before you engage your weapon.

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