Call Sign Chaos

by Jim Mattis

Later, when a high-ranking DoD official attempted to chew me out for talking “openly with the chattering class” (a strange description of the Secretary’s trusted policy board from one of his own staff), I ignored him. It had become too clear that I was supposed to sit quietly in the back of the bus as it careened off a strategic cliff.

How I feel about the "badge-slap" issue!

Expecting countries with no democratic tradition, only recently coming out from under the yoke of colonialism, to embrace democracy at the level demanded by some in Washington was based on a wholly unrealistic view about the pace of cultural change. We had to be thinking in terms of generations, not months.

It is better to have a friend with deep flaws than an adversary with enduring hostility.

Decades earlier, Assad’s father had used chemical weapons to put down a revolt. To prevent this from happening again, in August President Obama issued a firm warning. “That’s a red line for us,” he said. “There would be enormous consequences if we start seeing movement on the chemical weapons front or the use of chemical weapons.” A short time later, Assad did employ chemical weapons, killing hundreds of civilians. Obviously, the President’s warning had not impressed the murderous dictator. At CENTCOM, I had assumed we would be the ones to provide the President’s “enormous consequence.” We prepared options to hold Assad harshly accountable, with NATO and Arab allies in support, from single strikes to more extensive operations, depending on the President’s judgment. We were ready, and I awaited the orders. Instead, the President decided not to strike. We never responded militarily. This was a shot not heard around the world. Old friends in NATO and in the Pacific registered dismay and incredulity that America’s reputation had been seriously weakened as a credible security partner. Within thirty-six hours, I received a phone call from a friendly Pacific-nation diplomat. “Well, Jim,” he said, “I guess we’re on our own with China.”

“Dynamite in the hands of a child,” Winston Churchill wrote, “is not more dangerous than a strong policy weakly carried out.”

Several months later, I was in Tampa conducting CENTCOM’s annual war game. This was the only time each year that staff members from the Pentagon, State, and the White House participated. A few days later, The Washington Post reported about the war game. The story was picked up, and additional particulars about the game were published in several newspapers. I was chastised, on the assumption that CENTCOM had leaked the war game. Call me crazy, but if the only time our planning leaked was when we included Washington, I’d bet my paycheck the leak came from the banks of the Potomac River. At CENTCOM, we stayed loyal and kept our mouths shut.

If you haven’t read hundreds of books, learning from others who went before you, you are functionally illiterate—you can’t coach and you can’t lead. History lights the often dark path ahead; even if it’s a dim light, it’s better than none.

If you can’t be additive as a leader, you’re just like a potted plant in the corner of a hotel lobby: you look pretty, but you’re not adding substance to the organization’s mission.

The World War II generation is referred to as our Greatest Generation because they defeated fascism, and had it seared into them that while we may not like everything that happens beyond our borders, our freedom is inextricably tied to the global situation. They then acted to secure a better peace.

“E pluribus unum.” Out of many, one. That was the motto our forefathers adopted to avoid becoming a nation of immigrants divided into tribes. For the sake of future generations, let us keep the faith. E pluribus unum.