thedrifter
01-11-06, 06:58 AM
General says stopping desire to strike U.S. is the only way to end war
By: MARK WALKER - Staff Writer
SAN DIEGO ---- The only way to win the global war on terrorism and end the fighting in Iraq is to stop groups of disaffected men from being willing to die to strike a blow against the United States, the commanding general of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command said Tuesday.
The comment from Lt. Gen. James Mattis, former commander of Camp Pendleton's 1st Marine Division, came during a panel discussion on lessons learned from combat in Iraq at a conference sponsored by the U.S. Naval Institute and the Armed Forces Communications Electronics Association.
"They cannot win at the ballot box, which is why they use terrorism," said Mattis, who got into hot water during an appearance before the same group last year when he said it was "a hell of a lot of fun to shoot some people."
Mattis was more guarded in his remarks this year, saying at the start of his address at the San Diego Convention Center that it is "a pleasure and an honor to defend this country."
The general, who now works out of Quantico, Va., said the biggest threat to world peace today comes from unstable Middle East nations where groups of young men don't have economic opportunities and become frustrated and angry.
"We're going to be drawn in, and if these failing states are going to be breeding grounds for terrorism, we have to be ready for that," Mattis said.
The best course is develop strategic approaches to "drying up this pool of disaffected men," he said.
Brig. Gen. Joe Dunford, director of the Marine Corps Operations Division, said one of the major lessons learned in Iraq is that decision-making abilities need to be granted to individual squads of soldiers and Marines.
That's necessary because the threat that troops face today is much different than that of conventional warfare, such as that experienced in World War II, Korea and Vietnam, he said.
The overall climate in Iraq is beginning to change, Dunford said, adding that the recent focus on the border with Syria has greatly reduced the number of insurgents coming into the country.
For the troops on the ground, the key to success is improving their cultural awareness and their ability to serve as intelligence gatherers, Dunford said.
"We used to say that every Marine is also a rifleman," he said. "Now we say that every Marine is also an intelligence gatherer."
Retired U.S. Army Gen. Robert Scales said that the conflict in Iraq today, in which insurgents rely on roadside explosives and suicide bombers, is here to stay.
"Your grandchildren will be fighting this type of war," warned Scales, co-author of the book, "The Iraq War."
He also spoke about having better trained and equipped troops.
Rather than relying on sophisticated weaponry, future conflict will be on a one-to-one scale involving small groups attacking other small groups, he said.
"The transformation that must be made is to meet an enemy that has chosen to fight us on a human level," Scales said.
He called for development of highly educated and culturally aware "supersquads" of soldiers and Marines, and for improvements in the way their leaders are selected and trained.
Earlier in the day, Assistant Secretary of Defense Thomas Hall said the concept of the "weekend warrior," in reference to National Guard and reserve troops, is forever gone.
"It's dead," Hall said, adding those components of the military are now considered "operational reserves" because of the frequency in which they are called to active duty.
Since Sept. 11, more than 500,000 National Guard and reserve troops have been mobilized, with 130,00 currently on active duty compared with more than 180,000 a year ago, he said.
"We are continuing to draw that number down and I think it will go that way in the future," Hall said.
While many of the guard and reserve troops were called to duty for as long as 18 months following the invasion of Iraq, Hall said that the goal today is for active-duty assignments lasting no more than a year.
While praising World War II veterans as "the greatest generation," Hall said he believes the next greatest generation is being built today because all of the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines are volunteers.
Also appearing at the conference, which continues today and Thursday, was Vice Adm. Harvey Johnson, commander of U.S. Coast Guard forces in the Pacific.
Johnson spoke at length about the continued cooperation between the Coast Guard and the Navy to provide homeland defense and to stop waterborne drug trafficking and illegal immigration.
Among his key challenges, Johnson said, is making sure that none of the more than 14 million containers that now arrive at the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach contain weapons of mass destruction.
"At one point, we viewed the oceans as providing protection," Johnson said. "The oceans today are a superhighway that represent a virtual conveyor belt of goods coming into this country."
Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com. To comment on this story, go to www.nctimes.com.
Ellie
By: MARK WALKER - Staff Writer
SAN DIEGO ---- The only way to win the global war on terrorism and end the fighting in Iraq is to stop groups of disaffected men from being willing to die to strike a blow against the United States, the commanding general of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command said Tuesday.
The comment from Lt. Gen. James Mattis, former commander of Camp Pendleton's 1st Marine Division, came during a panel discussion on lessons learned from combat in Iraq at a conference sponsored by the U.S. Naval Institute and the Armed Forces Communications Electronics Association.
"They cannot win at the ballot box, which is why they use terrorism," said Mattis, who got into hot water during an appearance before the same group last year when he said it was "a hell of a lot of fun to shoot some people."
Mattis was more guarded in his remarks this year, saying at the start of his address at the San Diego Convention Center that it is "a pleasure and an honor to defend this country."
The general, who now works out of Quantico, Va., said the biggest threat to world peace today comes from unstable Middle East nations where groups of young men don't have economic opportunities and become frustrated and angry.
"We're going to be drawn in, and if these failing states are going to be breeding grounds for terrorism, we have to be ready for that," Mattis said.
The best course is develop strategic approaches to "drying up this pool of disaffected men," he said.
Brig. Gen. Joe Dunford, director of the Marine Corps Operations Division, said one of the major lessons learned in Iraq is that decision-making abilities need to be granted to individual squads of soldiers and Marines.
That's necessary because the threat that troops face today is much different than that of conventional warfare, such as that experienced in World War II, Korea and Vietnam, he said.
The overall climate in Iraq is beginning to change, Dunford said, adding that the recent focus on the border with Syria has greatly reduced the number of insurgents coming into the country.
For the troops on the ground, the key to success is improving their cultural awareness and their ability to serve as intelligence gatherers, Dunford said.
"We used to say that every Marine is also a rifleman," he said. "Now we say that every Marine is also an intelligence gatherer."
Retired U.S. Army Gen. Robert Scales said that the conflict in Iraq today, in which insurgents rely on roadside explosives and suicide bombers, is here to stay.
"Your grandchildren will be fighting this type of war," warned Scales, co-author of the book, "The Iraq War."
He also spoke about having better trained and equipped troops.
Rather than relying on sophisticated weaponry, future conflict will be on a one-to-one scale involving small groups attacking other small groups, he said.
"The transformation that must be made is to meet an enemy that has chosen to fight us on a human level," Scales said.
He called for development of highly educated and culturally aware "supersquads" of soldiers and Marines, and for improvements in the way their leaders are selected and trained.
Earlier in the day, Assistant Secretary of Defense Thomas Hall said the concept of the "weekend warrior," in reference to National Guard and reserve troops, is forever gone.
"It's dead," Hall said, adding those components of the military are now considered "operational reserves" because of the frequency in which they are called to active duty.
Since Sept. 11, more than 500,000 National Guard and reserve troops have been mobilized, with 130,00 currently on active duty compared with more than 180,000 a year ago, he said.
"We are continuing to draw that number down and I think it will go that way in the future," Hall said.
While many of the guard and reserve troops were called to duty for as long as 18 months following the invasion of Iraq, Hall said that the goal today is for active-duty assignments lasting no more than a year.
While praising World War II veterans as "the greatest generation," Hall said he believes the next greatest generation is being built today because all of the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines are volunteers.
Also appearing at the conference, which continues today and Thursday, was Vice Adm. Harvey Johnson, commander of U.S. Coast Guard forces in the Pacific.
Johnson spoke at length about the continued cooperation between the Coast Guard and the Navy to provide homeland defense and to stop waterborne drug trafficking and illegal immigration.
Among his key challenges, Johnson said, is making sure that none of the more than 14 million containers that now arrive at the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach contain weapons of mass destruction.
"At one point, we viewed the oceans as providing protection," Johnson said. "The oceans today are a superhighway that represent a virtual conveyor belt of goods coming into this country."
Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com. To comment on this story, go to www.nctimes.com.
Ellie