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| US SecDef Jim Mattis |
WEST POINT, NEW YORK, May 27 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Saturday his country is committed to fighting terrorism, as "Americans are not made of cotton candy."
The retired four-star Marine general made the remarks while talking to the 936 graduating cadets at the football stadium of the U.S. Military Academy, located in West Point, aboutn 96 kilometers north of New York City on the Hudson River.
"Manchester's tragic loss underscores the purpose of your years of study and training at this elite school," Mattis said, referring to Monday's suicide bombing at a concert hall in Manchester, England, in which 22 people were killed. The so-called Islamic State terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
"We must never permit murderers to define our time or warp our sense of normal. This is not normal," said Mattis, who became defense secretary on Jan. 20, hours after Republican President Donald Trump was sworn in.
Read the full story at Xinhua