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The Great Gatsby
Hamlet

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The Great Gatsby
Hamlet

James Mattis Quotes

The Nazi slogan for destroying us…was ‘Divide and Conquer.’ Our American answer is ‘In Union there is Strength.’ We must summon that unity to surmount this crisis – confident that we are better than our politics.

– James Mattis

Former Defense Secretary takes aim at Donald Trump over his response to George Floyd protests.

Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people – does not even pretend to try. Instead he tries to divide us. We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership.

– James Mattis

Criticizing Trump for threatening to deploy regular troops to quell unrest over police brutality.

We must reject and hold accountable those in office who would make a mockery of our Constitution.

– James Mattis

Only by adopting a new path – which means, in truth, returning to the original path of our founding ideals – will we again be a country admired and respected at home and abroad.

– James Mattis

I believe that many of my young guys lived because I didn’t waste their lives because I didn’t have the vision in my mind of how to destroy the enemy at least cost to our guys and to the innocents on the battlefields.

– James Mattis

Iran is not a nation-state; it’s a revolutionary cause devoted to mayhem.

– James Mattis

Read about history, and you become aware that nothing starts with us.

– James Mattis

We should not fight wars without a clearly defined end state… when you go to war, it can’t be a half-step.

– James Mattis

No war is over until the enemy says it’s over.

– James Mattis

I don’t think the U.S. military is conservative. It’s pragmatic.

– James Mattis

There’s no way that that our military power will not erode if a robust American economic revival is not part of the cards.

– James Mattis

The most important 6 inches on the battlefield is between your ears.

– James Mattis

What is the one country in the Middle East that has not been attacked by ISIS? One. That is Iran. That is more than happenstance, I’m sure.

– James Mattis

For the mission’s sake, for our country’s sake, and the sake of the men who carried the Division’s colors in past battles – carry out your mission and keep your honor clean.

– James Mattis

I’ve had some ‘riotous excursions of the human spirit’ alongside the young Sailors and Marines, and it’s time to leave the stage to the young leaders who got their rank the old-fashioned way – they earned their stripes in combat.

– James Mattis

It is not scientifically possible to accurately predict the outcome of an action. To suggest otherwise runs contrary to historical experience and the nature of war.

– James Mattis

Engage your brain before you engage your weapon.

– James Mattis

In an interconnected age when opportunistic adversaries can work in tandem to destroy stability and prosperity, our country needs to regain its strategic footing. We need to bring the clarity to our efforts before we lose the confidence of the American people and the support of potential allies.

– James Mattis

In my line of work, the enemy gets a vote.

– James Mattis

It’s a lot easier to stay idealistic if you don’t sign two to five next-of-kin letters every day.

– James Mattis

There are going to be good days and bad days. Bottom line.

– James Mattis

I don’t have the best track record with quotes.

– James Mattis

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

Now from a distance, I look back on what the Corps taught me: to think like men of action, and to act like men of thought!

– James Mattis

Since coming back from overseas, this is more of a foreign country than the places overseas. I don’t understand it. It’s like America has lost faith in rational thought.

– James Mattis

I like the enemy knowing there are a few guys like me around.

– James Mattis

There is no God-given right to victory on the battlefield. You win that through the skill and the devotion, the valor and the ferocity of your troops.

– James Mattis

No one gives a damn what Iran thinks on any significant issue. The only reason Iran is at the big boys’ table is because of their nuclear weapons program.

– James Mattis

By reading, you learn through others’ experiences, generally, a better way to do business, especially in our line of work where the consequences of incompetence are so final for young men.

– James Mattis

For a sitting U.S. president to see our allies as freeloaders is nuts.

– James Mattis

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