NEW YORK (Halbeeg News) – Defense Secretary Jim Mattis resigned Thursday after a clash with President Donald Trump over the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria, saying in a parting letter that the president deserved someone atop the Pentagon who is “better aligned” with his views.
The retired Marine general’s surprise resignation came a day after Trump overruled his advisers, including Mattis, and shocked American allies by announcing the pullout. In the process, Trump declared victory over the ISIS, even though the Pentagon and State Department for months have been saying the fight against the group in Syria is not over.
The discord caused Trump to lose a Cabinet official who won widespread praise at home and abroad but who experienced increasing differences with the commander in chief.
Long seen as a bulwark against Trump’s isolationist and more extreme impulses, Mattis served as a calm “reassurer-in-chief” as the president sent out startling and provocative tweets. Mattis’ departure adds new uncertainty about which course the administration might take on its global challenges.
Mattis pointed to some of his differences with Trump in a resignation letter he submitted to the White House on Thursday. The retired general emphasized that the United States derives its strength from its relationships with allies and should treat them with respect. He said the country must also be “clear-eyed” about threats, including from groups such as the ISIS.
“We must do everything possible to advance an international order that is most conducive to our security, prosperity and values, and we are strengthened in this effort by the solidarity of our alliances,” Mattis wrote.
The defense secretary resigned during what one senior administration official described as a disagreement in the Oval Office on Thursday afternoon, in which Mattis sought to persuade the president to stand down on the Syria withdrawal but was rejected. Trump was later given a copy of the resignation letter and noted to aides that it was not positive toward him. By then, the president had shocked the Pentagon by filming a video on the White House lawn in which he claimed the ISIS had been defeated and said U.S. troops who had died in combat would be proud to see their fellow service members return home.
While the Syria announcement looked poised to score political points with the public, Mattis and other top advisers suspect that it will deliver a win to Russia, Iran and Syrian leader Bashar Assad, while risking a resurgence of the ISIS.
Source: The Washington Post
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