Retired Marine general and U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis put America’s enemies on notice while speaking before the House Armed Services Committee Tuesday.

“If you threaten us, it will be your longest and worst day.”

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“Our first line of effort emphasizes that everything we do must contribute to the lethality of our military,” Secretary Mattis stated. “In war, an enemy will attack a perceived weakness. Therefore, we cannot adopt a single pre set of warfare. If deterrence fails, we must win.”

“To defend our way of life, our military will embrace change while holding fast to traditional proven attributes that make us the most formidable force on any battlefield. Those who would threaten America’s experiment in democracy must know if you threaten us, it will be your longest and worst day.”

#SecDef Mattis to HASC: Important for potential adversaries to know “if you threaten us, it will be your longest and worst day.” He does know how to turn a phrase. #nationaldefensestrategy — Andrew Clevenger (@andclev) February 6, 2018

“We will prioritize rebuilding readiness while modernizing our existing force,” he continued. “We will also be changing our force’s posture to prioritize readiness for war fighting and major combat, making us strategic predictable for our allies and operationally unpredictable for any adversary.” (RELATED: Mattis Gives Quote Of The Year When Asked What Keeps Him Awake At Night [VIDEO])

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