Marine General James 'Chaos' Mattis Agrees To Kick Knowledge To Nation's Brightest
Mattis stepped down from his post as Commanding General, U.S. Central Command, back in April. In that capacity, the four-star Marine general oversaw all military operations in East Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia.
At Dartmouth, he will be a Distinguished Visitor at the John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding.
Daniel Benjamin, formerly the U.S. State Department’s top counterterrorism official and presently the director of the Dickey Center, was largely responsible for bringing Mattis to Dartmouth.
"I am delighted that Gen. Mattis is joining us this fall," Benjamin said in a Dartmouth press release. "I worked closely with Jim Mattis while I was in government and I know him to be one of the deepest military thinkers and strongest leaders of his generation.
He will also have a role with Stanford's Hoover Institute as a visiting fellow.
Over the weekend, Mattis spoke to the Aspen Institute. He spoke candidly on a range of issues from Syria, to the uprisings in Egypt, to the prospect of diplomatic relations with Iran.
The general, nicknamed 'Mad Dog,' has a penchant for straight talk. He famously once said to a group of Iraqi tribal leaders, "I come in peace. I didn't bring artillery. But I’m pleading with you, with tears in my eyes: If you f*** with me, I’ll kill you all."