Defense Secretary James Mattis made a surprise visit to the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on Thursday and gave troops the kind of pep talk we have not heard in years.
The visit was not a political one, as the defense secretary did not inspect the facilities nor did he discuss policies.
He simply wanted to boost morale and let soldiers know how much he appreciated them.
Mattis said the main goal of his trip was to bring the troops a little Christmas cheer, The Associated Press reported.
When speaking to several hundred troops at the facility, Mattis stressed the importance of keeping Gitmo running.
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“We need this base badly,” he said, according to the AP. He added that regardless of the future of the controversial detention center, the Pentagon would not abandon the base.
Mattis, the first defense secretary to visit Guantamano Bay since 2002, defended the way prisoners have been treated at the facility, which has often been criticized in the American and international media from the day it started accepting prisoners from the U.S. war on terror.
But Mattis had no criticisms Thursday. Instead, he encouraged the troops.
“I am confident that we’re doing the right thing here,” he told the soldiers, according to the AP.
Currently, 41 detainees remain at Guantanamo Bay including 26 “forever prisoners,” deemed too dangerous to release.
“I need you to be at the top of your game,” Mattis added, when speaking about the possibility of war.
“Mad Dog” Mattis even had a little fun with the troops, telling them he did not have stress, he created it.
Mattis mixes it up with troops at Gitmo. Tosses out a little humor: “I don’t have stress anymore. I create it.” http://pic.twitter.com/JUVL0UbFXp
— Robert Burns (@robertburnsAP) December 21, 2017
All kidding aside, this is the kind of resolve we need in order to win the war of terror.
We have not heard the kind of message in years, but it is the exactly what our troops need to hear. After the Barack Obama presidency, they need to know they have a president and an administration that is behind them.
Obama tried to please his liberal base — at home and abroad — by scaling down the country’s involvement in all areas of fighting terror, and we were losing the war because of it.
Thankfully, we do not have to worry about the Trump administration turning a blind eye to terrorism.
H/T Breitbart
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via Conservative Tribune
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