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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 by some immoral act.

James Mattis

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James Mattis
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More quotes by James Mattis

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You are part of the world's most feared and trusted force. Engage your brain before you engage your weapon.
James Mattis
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I don't lose any sleep at night over the potential for failure. I cannot even spell the word.
James Mattis
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A country that armed Stalin to defeat Hitler can certainly work alongside enemies of al-Qaida to defeat al-Qaida.
James Mattis
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Nothing keeps me awake at night. I keep other people awake at night.
James Mattis
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An untrained or uneducated Marine ... deployed to the combat zone is a bigger threat to mission accomplishment ... than the enemy.
James Mattis
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Actually, it's a lot of fun to fight. You know, it's a hell of a hoot.
James Mattis
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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 that they leave us and our freedoms intact.
James Mattis
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I think, broadly speaking, the US military's role - US military activism in various parts of the Islamic world over the past several decades has been counterproductive.
James Mattis
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PowerPoint makes us stupid.
James Mattis
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Be the hunter, not the hunted: Never allow your unit to be caught with its guard down.
James Mattis
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Fight with a happy heart and strong spirit.
James Mattis
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What would you do differently as defense secretary to compensate for this record in which the greatest military in the world, as we are constantly told, doesn't get the job done?
James Mattis
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The most important six inches on the battlefield is between your ears.
James Mattis
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You've been told that you're broken. That you're damaged goods ... there is also Post-Traumatic Growth. You come back from war stronger and more sure of who you are.
James Mattis
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I don't see lethality as the problem. I mean, the lethality of US forces is quite remarkable.
James Mattis
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Treachery has existed as long as there's been warfare, and there's always been a few people that you couldn't trust.
James Mattis
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ISIS is a threat to all civilized nations. America's intention is that the foreign fighters do not survive the fight to return home to North Africa, to Europe, to America, to Asia, to Africa. We're not going to allow them to do so. We're going to stop them there and take apart the caliphate.
James Mattis
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I'm from the American West. We have forest fires out there. And some of the worst forest fires in our history, the most damage were caused when we pulled the fire crews off the line too early. And so we're going to have to continue to keep the pressure on the enemy - ISIS. There's no room for complacency on this.
James Mattis
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I think the core problem is much closer to recognizing where force is of value, where it is useful, and to distinguish that from situations in which war is not useful or is indeed counterproductive.
James Mattis
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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.
James Mattis