Best Defense
Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

General Mattis on the American experiment and military ethics

Over the weekend I was re-reading a terrific lecture Marine General James Mattis, now head of the Central Command, gave at the Naval Academy in 2004, and was particularly struck by these passages: …if we are to keep this great big experiment called America alive-and that’s all it is, an experiment-we need cocky, macho, unselfish, ...

CHRIS KLEPONIS/AFP/Getty Images
CHRIS KLEPONIS/AFP/Getty Images
CHRIS KLEPONIS/AFP/Getty Images

Over the weekend I was re-reading a terrific lecture Marine General James Mattis, now head of the Central Command, gave at the Naval Academy in 2004, and was particularly struck by these passages:

Over the weekend I was re-reading a terrific lecture Marine General James Mattis, now head of the Central Command, gave at the Naval Academy in 2004, and was particularly struck by these passages:

…if we are to keep this great big experiment called America alive-and that’s all it is, an experiment-we need cocky, macho, unselfish, and morally very straight young men and women to lead our forces against the enemy.

…Okay, it’s not a perfect world, but America is worth fighting for on its worst day. So, if you have got the guts to step across that line, as each of you have, then just go out and enjoy the brawl. Just have a damn good time. Train your men well. Go beat the crap out of people who deserve it, and when they throw down their gun, then you have won.

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1

More from Foreign Policy

Keri Russell as Kate Wyler walks by a State Department Seal from a scene in The Diplomat, a new Netflix show about the foreign service.
Keri Russell as Kate Wyler walks by a State Department Seal from a scene in The Diplomat, a new Netflix show about the foreign service.

At Long Last, the Foreign Service Gets the Netflix Treatment

Keri Russell gets Drexel furniture but no Senate confirmation hearing.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron speak in the garden of the governor of Guangdong's residence in Guangzhou, China, on April 7.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron speak in the garden of the governor of Guangdong's residence in Guangzhou, China, on April 7.

How Macron Is Blocking EU Strategy on Russia and China

As a strategic consensus emerges in Europe, France is in the way.

Chinese President Jiang Zemin greets U.S. President George W. Bush prior to a meeting of APEC leaders in 2001.
Chinese President Jiang Zemin greets U.S. President George W. Bush prior to a meeting of APEC leaders in 2001.

What the Bush-Obama China Memos Reveal

Newly declassified documents contain important lessons for U.S. China policy.

A girl stands atop a destroyed Russian tank.
A girl stands atop a destroyed Russian tank.

Russia’s Boom Business Goes Bust

Moscow’s arms exports have fallen to levels not seen since the Soviet Union’s collapse.