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<font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=3><a href="http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=7535122" eudora="autourl">http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=7535122<br>
</a></font>U.S. General Says It Is 'Fun to Shoot Some People'<br>
Fri Feb 4, 2005 12:05 AM ET <br><br>
By Will Dunham<br><br>
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A senior U.S. Marine Corps general who said it was
"fun to shoot some people" should have chosen his words more
carefully but will not be disciplined, military officials said on
Thursday. <br><br>
Lt. Gen. James Mattis, who commanded troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and
is slated to be portrayed by star actor Harrison Ford in an upcoming
Hollywood movie, made the comments at a conference on Tuesday in San
Diego, California. <br><br>
"Actually it's quite fun to fight 'em, you know. It's a hell of a
hoot. It's fun to shoot some people. I'll be right up front with you, I
like brawling," Mattis said. <br><br>
"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for
five years because they didn't wear a veil," Mattis said during a
panel discussion. "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."
<br><br>
In a statement, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Michael Hagee praised Mattis
as "one of this country's bravest and most experienced military
leaders." <br><br>
"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," Hagee said. <br><br>
"Lt. Gen. Mattis often speaks with a great deal of candor. I have
counseled him concerning his remarks and he agrees he should have chosen
his words more carefully," Hagee added. <br><br>
Maj. Jason Johnston, a Marine spokesman at the Pentagon, said Hagee did
not plan disciplinary action against Mattis. Johnston declined to specify
how Hagee had counseled Mattis. <br><br>
During a Pentagon briefing, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld did not
criticize Mattis' remarks, saying, "I have not read his words. I
don't know what he said precisely or the context." <br><br>
'THE RIGHT EXAMPLE' <br><br>
Marine Gen. Peter Pace, vice chairman of the military's Joint Chiefs of
Staff, lauded Mattis' record and leadership. <br><br>
Without explicitly criticizing Mattis, Pace told the briefing,
"First of all, 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." <br><br>
Mattis, formally promoted to three-star general last month, heads the
Marine Corps Combat Development Command, at Quantico, Virginia.
<br><br>
In November 2001, Mattis proclaimed, "We have landed and we now own
terrain in south Afghanistan," after Marines took over a desert
airstrip. The comment ruffled feathers at the Pentagon, where officials
were uneasy with a U.S. general talking about owning Afghanistan.
<br><br>
In Iraq, he commanded the 1st Marine Division during the 2003 invasion
and subsequent counterinsurgency operations. <br><br>
Mattis was ordered to lead an assault on the Iraqi city of Falluja in
April 2004 after the slaying and mutilation of four American contractors,
but U.S. leaders halted the offensive and withdrew his Marines before a
decisive showdown. He wrapped up his service in Iraq in August, a
spokeswoman said. <br><br>
In November, Marines under different command seized control of the city
after the U.S. presidential election. <br><br>
Ford has been pegged to play the role of Mattis in the film version of an
upcoming book "No True Glory," an account of the April battle
for Falluja written by Marine veteran Bing West. <br><br>
Senior Pentagon Intelligence official Lt. Gen. William Boykin referred in
2003 to the struggle against Islamic extremists as a battle with Satan.
In a speech, Boykin referred to a Muslim fighter in Somalia, and said,
"Well, you know what I knew, that my God was bigger than his. I knew
that my God was a real God, and his was an idol." <br><br>
The Pentagon inspector general concluded in August that Boykin should
face "appropriate corrective action," and a senior Army general
said in October said unspecified action had been taken against
Boykin.<br><br>
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