A University of Michigan history professor thinks pop singer Ariana Grande understands counterterrorism better than U.S. Secretary of Defense James "Mad Dog" Mattis.
Professor Juan Cole made the assertion Wednesday in an op-ed for The Nation, arguing that Grande's suggestion to combat ISIS and terror with "compassion, kindness, love, strength and oneness" would be more effective than Mattis' strategy of "annihilating" the brutal terror group.
Cole also praised 23-year-old Grande, whose concert in Manchester, England, was bombed by ISIS-linked terrorists last week, for announcing she would return to the city for a benefit concert for the victims.
"Her sentiments, the essence of counterinsurgency when it comes to ISIL's polarizing plot, were shared by Manchester Muslims, who marched in solidarity with the victims," Cole wrote. "I'm hoping that the Pentagon follows Grande's Twitter feed. Because she nailed it."
Mattis, a retired four-star general who is also known as "The Warrior Monk," left the Marine Corps in 2013 after a four-decade career in which he led troops in Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan.
He ended his illustrious career as the head of U.S. Central Command, where he was in charge of all American forces serving in the Middle East.
On Sunday, Mattis, 66, told CBS host John Dickerson that the U.S. is moving away from "attrition tactics, where we shove [ISIS] from one position to another in Iraq and Syria, to annihilation tactics, where we surround them."