James Mattis, Secretary of Defense, is known for his bold, no-holds-bar, remarks about the realities of war.
“What keeps you awake at night?” CBS “Face the Nation” host John Dickerson asked Mattis.
“Nothing,” a stonefaced Mattis responded. “I keep other people awake at night.”
“When you men get home and face an anti-war protester, look at him in the eyes and shake his hand. Then, wink at his girlfriend because she knows she’s dating a pussy,” Mattis once said.
“I come in peace. I didn’t bring artillery. But I’m pleading with you, with tears in my eyes. If you fuck with me, I’ll kill you all,” Mattis told Iraqi leaders during the 2003 invasion.
“Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet,” Mattis was known to tell Marines under his command during the Iraq war.