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The General Speaks
In this episode of Uncommon Knowledge with Peter Robinson from March of 2015, retired four-star General and soon to be President-elect Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Defense James Mattis discusses the role of the military, the role of the men who serve in the military, the role of military commanders, and the role of domestic leadership in the United States with regard to protecting its national interests. Mattis describes the reality of the continuing fight in Afghanistan.
General Mattis retired from the Marine Corps as a full general in 2013, where he served as the eleventh commander of the United States Central Command. He also served as the commander for NATO supreme allied transformation, and as commander of the United States Joint Forces Command. Mattis is now an Annenberg Distinguished Visiting Fellow fellow at the Hoover Institution.
Published in General
I honestly don’t think anyone does interviews better than you. We really get a sense of the person behind the face, and you do it in the kindest way.
I love the comment about personal relationships. Governments do not run on auto-pilot; they require men and women who cooperate intelligently and professionally. For all the hype about Mattis’ bluster, I listen to this interview and the stories about visiting the families of soldiers who died under his command, and instead of a blowhard I see a very thoughtful man. I sense a soldier who is a gentleman.
“Why are the prosperous times for this country so largely due to the whimsical intervention of that Providence which our French friends say watches over fools, drunkards, and Americans”
That interview proved how prescient Otto von Bismarck was. All I can say is, wow, and thank you Peter.
I’m feeling better all the time. Nobody anywhere does interviews better than Peter.
I had missed this one. But very happy to get to it now.It is incredibly great.
Great interview (as usual Peter) and Jim Mattis is awesome. I am so happy to see him as the new Secretary of Defense.
Mattis is very lucid. I very much liked the part about not just giving answers to politicians but teaching them to ask the right questions. Certainly an extremely good pick for SecDef. I’m sure, assuming he gets a Congressional waiver to allow him to be confirmed in office, he’s the right man to “annihilate” ISIS.
I’m printing this for my kids to read!
He is a gentleman indeed. Also the best of companions–warm, quick, and often very, very funny.
There is a reason US Warriors follow General Mattis. Intellect and force of will. He finds the essence of things and is able to aptly communicate purpose to his troops.
I actually found that rather ‘self evident observation’ a bit disheartening. After 15 years jerking around with these Jihadis, do you find that those questions have been asked? Honestly, just what the hell have we been doing?
His observations about the situation in Afghanistan and the irreconcilable differences between our civilization and theirs (the Taliban & the Jihadis there) also indicated that there is a large, majority of Afghans that don’t want that. That’s an assertion I have not heard anywhere else – seems to me that place falls the moment we leave. I’d like to hear more of what’s behind that assertion as they don’t seem to be rallying to our side much at all these past 15 years. Iraq appears to be lost to the Iranians (unless we’re ready for 3rd intervention). His observations on Al Sissi and the moderate Sunnis is encouraging – what will Trump & Congress think?
A timely and apparently effortless interview, Peter – but I know the “effortless” piece is not. It comes from years of practice and research, and treating your guests as welcome participants.
A lot of what the general said rang true for other lines of work, entirely different. He talked about mission creep and clear definitions of goals. In project management, the same rules apply – without those definitions and adherence to scope (doing only what the mission calls for and no more) wars never end, or “end” only with an indeterminate outcome. Maybe the Korean War is an example of that.
He also talked about relationships, seeking them out, seeking understanding from the stakeholders. At a higher level, bigger projects often fail because those relationships aren’t established. Trust isn’t established. Understanding isn’t sought. From the budgeting perspective, and the actual execution of a military strategy, without having those relationships, you’ll spend a good chunk of your time dealing with the results of that failure instead of executing your strategy.
Peter, thanks for a great interview. So many interviews today can be contentious or they become a platform for the interviewer to have his/her view point affirmed. You asked questions that allowed General Mattis to tell us who he is and to explain his thoughts on the relationship of the US Military to the political goals of civilian leadership.
Unfortunately some politicians can be like the interviewer that seeks to have what they believe to be affirmed concerning their world view. General Mattis is forthright and honest when expressing his views, views that are based upon a deep understanding of history and personal experience. Unfortunately only affirmation is sought in many cases, not honesty. President-elect Donald Trump has made a wise choice for his Secretary of Defense.
Great interview, Peter. I am so in awe of this man, and was deeply touched by his wisdom and compassion. I was especially moved by his comments about post-traumatic stress, that rather than making it a disease, one can find ways to deal with it in productive and life-altering ways. I think this reframing could be critical to the wellbeing of any soldier. Thanks to you and the general.
Clear and measurable objectives — what a concept! I am very happy to hear that from a president’s military advisor.
Sadly, that doesn’t translate into limited engagements.
Crippling the “capitol” of ISIS seems a good strategy to diminish their recruitment and resources, but I have no confidence that the war in Syria and Iraq will end there. And of course we should expect further events elsewhere to demand responses.
Adjusting the balance of military branch budgets in accordance with shifting needs is more plain sense that is somehow surprising from anyone near the reins of power.
Regarding Islamic states, I’d like to hear his thoughts on the OIC. Even our supposed allies in the region continue to push for criticism of Mohammed and Islam to be banned worldwide. The OIC consists of nations well beyond the Middle East as well. Is that “moderate” Islam? Does the “moderate” prince in Saudi Arabia have any sway in that federation which also funded the 9-11 attacks and continues to promote violent jihad worldwide through hateful propaganda?
I sure hope Mattis can distinguish between “the enemy of my enemy” — those Muslims allies he fought beside — and Islamic state leaders in absence of those shared, fleeting causes.
Peter, I express my deepest and most sincere thanks for this excellent interview from which I learned so much I had not known about this incredible man of truly amazing accomplishment and all I can do at this point is to echo those great congratulatory comments above, especially that of @susanquinn who touched on the terrible trend of “branding” returning combat veterans as diseased in some way and, to use a word we heard a lot in the ending stages of the campaign, “irredeemable.” Here is a comment I made in sending this interview to my e-mail group, the Patriot Friends (shortened due to word limit), and thanks again!
“My vocabulary simply does not contain enough superlatives to describe how impressive Gen. James Mattis is in this interview, and while you may think you know a lot about him and his sterling military record, you will learn so much from this excellent interview conducted by Peter Robinson, one of the founders of Ricochet.com, in early 2015. He speaks with a clarity and lucidity which immediately shows the result of his amazing breadth of intellectual accomplishment one could only gain from a lifetime of devoted study and learning in so many different fields. *** Also, I thought it best to send the link for the Ricochet site on which this appears (http://ricochet.com/394007/the-general-speaks/ ) as the comments, once again, are well worth reading in their own right. Jim.”
There are two people who I consider are modern masters in the art of interviewing. Peter Robinson and Andrew Denton.
Thank you Peter. Great Interview.