Retired Lt. Col. Ralph Peters on Friday castigated the "nonsense" of the political left that opposes President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of defense, James Mattis, because he is a general who retired in the past few years.
Peters addressed the controversy surrounding Mattis' confirmation process because the general will need a waiver from Congress to head the Pentagon since he has been a military officer within the past seven years, arguing that the country needs a general right now.
"Any nonsense from the left about, 'Oh, the man on horseback,' 'we don't want generals,' look, for 16 years, civilians with no military experience have gotten us into one disastrous conflict and impetuous intervention after another," Peters told Fox Business host Stuart Varney. "Maybe it's time to have a leader at Defense who's seen his Marines die, who's seen them be gravely wounded, who knows the cost, who knows the Middle East, who knows the world as it is, not seen through rose-colored glasses or a partisan lens."
Peters is a strong supporter of the "Warrior Monk," as Mattis is known by to some, and called him a "man of intellect."
After describing his past with Mattis and saying that the retired Marine general has a "deep, rich strategic understanding of how the world hangs together," Peters said that he is a "man of noble spirit."
Varney asked Peters if it is true that Mattis is an "intellectual."
"He's a man of intellect," Peters corrected. "An intellectual is somebody who never does anything with his life except criticize others."
Peters concluded the segment by calling Mattis a "noble man."