Tri-Service

Meet 'Mad Dog': Trump's Possible Pick For Defence

US president-elect Donald Trump has said retired Marine Corps General James Mattis is an "impressive" prospect for Defence Secretary.

It comes as Mr Trump says he has "made a couple of deals", after spending the weekend meeting a long list of candidates for government posts.

No appointments were confirmed, but Mr Trump and the vice president-elect, Mike Pence, did drop some hints, with the former writing on Twitter:

General James "Mad Dog" Mattis, who is being considered for Secretary of Defense, was very impressive yesterday. A true General's General!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 20, 2016

Mr Trump said on Sunday evening:

"I think we have some really incredible people going to be working for the country. We really had some incredible meetings. You'll be hearing about them soon."

The comments were indications that Mr Trump is looking outside his immediate circle as he works toward rounding out his foreign policy and national security teams. On Friday, he named a loyalist, retired Gen Michael Flynn, as his national security adviser.

The appointment of more establishment figures could offer some reassurance to people concerned about Mr Trump's hard-line positions on immigration and national security and his lack of foreign policy experience.

General James 'Mad Dog' Mattis: A Profile

Nicknamed 'Mad Dog' because of his reputation as a charismatic and tough-fighting military commander, General Mattis fought in the Gulf War, and in Afghanistan and Iraq after being commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Marines in 1972.

A popular leader, he was known for "getting into the trenches" with his troops, and was described as the "most revered Marine in a generation" by the Marine Corps Times.

In May 2004, however, he ordered an airstrike on a "suspected foreign fighter safe house" in Mukareeb, a small Iraqi village. It later emerged, however, that the target had in fact been a wedding, with 42 men, women and children dying as a result.

The US argued that it had been a legitimate attack, albeit, with General Mattis revealing it had taken him 30 seconds to decide whether to attack the target.

A year later, meanwhile, he controversially told a panel discussion "it's fun to shoot some people", prompting laughter from some military personnel in the audience. He said:

"Actually it's quite fun to fight them, you know. It's a hell of a hoot. It's fun to shoot some people. I'll be right up there with you. I like brawling."

He's also known for slogans like: "Marines don't know how to spell the word 'defeat'", and "be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everyone you meet."

General Mattis is also known for his intellectualism and interest in military history, insisting that troops under his command read about the cultural norms and history of the area they are sent to.

Also nicknamed "The Warrior Monk" because of his life-long bachelor lifestyle, and his devotion to studying and fighting war, he ensured his troops were given courses on Arab culture and cultural sensitivity classes before they deployed to Iraq.

He's previously spoken about issues a number of issues in the Middle East, stating that he believes Iran to be the main threat to stability in the region, ahead of Al-Qaeda and ISIS. He's said:

"I consider ISIS nothing more than an excuse for Iran to continue its mischief. Iran is not an enemy of ISIS. They have a lot to gain from the turmoil in the region that ISIS creates."

He doesn't however, believe that the Iran nuclear deal can now be torn up, despite his objections to it:

"We are just going to have to recognize that we have an imperfect arms control agreement. Second, that what we achieved is a nuclear pause, not a nuclear halt."

General Mattis, meanwhile supports a two-state solution for Israel-Palestinian peace, having argued that the current situation in Israel is "unsustainable".