World's Most Famous Journalists Attend Mercer Island High School

MERCER ISLAND, WA - Forget Woodward and Bernstein - the new crack journalism duo is Gormley and Fischer.

Mercer Island High School students Jane Gormley and Teddy Fischer recently snagged an interview with U.S. Secretary of Defense James "Mad Dog" Mattis after the Washington Post accidentally published Mattis' cell phone number in a photo. Fischer spotted the number and sent Mattis a text message asking for a one-on-one.

Mattis said yes. The story of their miraculous interview been heard around the world, everywhere from NPR to The Daily Mail.

Gormley, the editor of The Islander newspaper, sat down with Fischer to write questions for the interview, and the duo didn't pull any punches. They asked Mattis to give advice to students leaving high school, but they also asked him about ISIS, Syria, Russian military power, and the effectiveness of diplomacy.

TEDDY: How will the U.S. help rebuild Arab countries after ISIS is inevitably defeated? How can the U.S. avoid creating power vacuums?

MATTIS: Well the first thing, I think is your thesis Teddy. Secretary Tillerson ran a conference here about seven weeks ago on Washington D.C. and it was the Defeat ISIS Coalition, so of course I spoke at it because I coordinate the military aspects. It was 65 countries, it was Interpol, the international police organization that tracks the foreign fighters for all the world’s police departments. It was the European Union, the Arab league, and also now NATO as of last week, has joined the Defeat ISIS Coalition. The point I would make there is that, you don’t have to have the Americans do it all. There are many nations that said, if you will lead, we will contribute. For example, we had contributions, donations, committed to heavily by the Sunni Arab nations to the tune of several billion dollars.

Mattis rarely gives interviews, and he has a reputation as a "warrior monk": a believer in "hard" military power with a strong intellectual streak. Mattis was formerly a Marine Corps general who commanded U.S. forces in the Middle East and Asia under former President Barack Obama. President Donald Trump nominated him for the Secretary of Defense post after meeting with him in November.

At one point, Fischer asked Mattis why - out of all the requests he gets - he agreed to talk to The Islander. Mattis said it's because he's from Washington state, too. Mattis was born in Pullman and got a bachelor's degree from Central Washington University.

To wrap up the interview, Fischer asked Mattis for advice to graduating seniors. Mattis gave a long response, but the meat of it was this:

"[J]ust look for ways to help others all the way along, Teddy, and you’ll never go far wrong if you’re always looking to do that. You won’t get all caught up in your own problems if you’re out helping others overcome theirs," Mattis advised.

He also advised Fischer to keep asking questions.

Image via Manuel Balce Ceneta/Associated Press