An avid reader, Mr. Mattis also says he wants the Defense Department’s regional desks to be able to think the way people in their respective countries would think, officials said. He wants military officials to have read the literature of the country in which they specialize and to really understand the countries, not just the issues that affect bilateral relations with the United States.
At the Pentagon last week, Mr. Mattis showed up unannounced and without aides in the Middle East policy office to ask a question of one of the desk officers.
Unfortunately, Madison has long tolerated disastrous reading results.