February 4, 2005

Mainstream Media

"It's Fun to Shoot Some People": How Headlines Don't Reflect the Story

Marc Comtois
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.

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.

"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.

The reason he won't be disciplined is because the context in which he made the statement, which has been downplayed and certainly wasn't as "sexy", was
"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."
Now, I can understand the reluctance to officially condone such sentiments, but there are quite a few people, men and women, who share Mattis' sentiments.

A sidebar to the story: it is mentioned that Harrison Ford will portray Mattis in a movie. The movie is about the aborted assault on Fallujah in April 2004. The movie will be based on the book No True Glory: Fallujah and the Struggle in Iraq : A Frontline Account by Bing West, an imbed reporter who was with the U.S. Military during the battle.

8:45 AM