U.S. Marine General -'It's Fun To Shoot Some People'

His boss, the commandant of the Marine Corps, said Thursday the comments reflect "the unfortunate and harsh realities of war" but the general has been asked to watch his words in public. Lt.-Gen. James Mattis, a career infantry officer who is now in charge of developing better ways to train and equip marines, made the comments Tuesday while speaking to a forum in San Diego, Calif. In an audio recording, Mattis said: "Actually, it's a lot of fun to fight. You know, it's a hell of a hoot...It's fun to shoot some people." "I'll be right upfront with you, I like brawling." He added: "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 ain't got no manhood left anyway." "So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." His comments were met with laughter and applause from the audience. Mattis was speaking during a panel discussion hosted by the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association, a spokeswoman for the general said. On Thursday, Gen. Mike Hagee, commandant of the Marine Corps, issued a statement saying: "Lt.-Gen. Mattis often speaks with a great deal of candour. I have counselled him concerning his remarks and he agrees he should have chosen his words more carefully." Hagee also said: "While I understand that some people may take issue with the comments made by him, I also know he intended to reflect the unfortunate and harsh realities of war." Mattis is currently the commanding general of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command in Quantico, Va., and deputy commandant for combat development. Marine Gen. Peter Pace, vice-chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said it was up to Mattis to address his own comments but he added: "All of us who are leaders have a responsibility in our words and our actions to provide the right example all the time for those who look to us for leadership." Pace spoke to a Pentagon news conference. U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said he had not read Mattis's words and deferred to Pace. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil-liberties group, called on the Pentagon to discipline Mattis for the remarks. "We do not need generals who treat the grim business of war as a sporting event," said the council's executive director, Nihad Awad. "These disturbing remarks are indicative of an apparent indifference to the value of human life." Mattis's comments were reported by the television station KNSD in San Diego and the audio recording was posted on its website www.nbcsandiego.com . As a lieutenant-colonel, Mattis led an assault battalion into Kuwait during the first war with Iraq. During the war in Afghanistan, he commanded the 1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade and subsequently Task Force 58, which fought in southern Afghanistan as the Taliban fell. During the second war in Iraq, he commanded the 1st Marine Division during the invasion and also when the unit returned to Iraq for counter-insurgency operations last year. Read more: http://www.mytelus.com/news/article.do?pageID=world_home&articleID=1835996