Mattis Stepping Down as Defense Secretary

Resignation letter implies criticism of Trump's Syria decision
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Dec 20, 2018 5:05 PM CST
Mattis Stepping Down as Defense Secretary
In this Nov. 9, 2018, file photo, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis waits outside the Pentagon.   (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is stepping down from his post, President Trump announced Thursday, after the retired Marine general clashed with the president over a troop drawdown in Syria and Trump's go-it-alone stance in world affairs. Mattis, perhaps the most respected foreign policy official in Trump's administration, will leave by the end of February after two tumultuous years struggling to soften and moderate the president's hardline and sometimes abruptly changing policies, the AP reports. The announcement came a day after Trump surprised US allies and members of Congress by announcing the withdrawal of all US troops from Syria, and as he continues to consider shrinking the American deployment in Afghanistan. Trump said on Twitter that a new secretary will be named soon.

In his resignation letter, Mattis alluded to disagreements with Trump as the reason for his departure. "Because you have the right to have a secretary of defense whose views are better aligned with yours on these and other subjects, I believe it is right for me to step down from my position," Mattis wrote. Trump's decision to pull troops out of Syria has been criticized for abandoning America's Kurdish allies, who may well face a Turkish assault once US troops leave. Mattis, in his resignation letter, emphasized the importance of standing up for US allies in an implicit criticism of the president's decision. "While the US remains the indispensable nation in the free world, we cannot protect our interests or serve that role effectively without maintaining strong alliances and showing respect to those allies," Mattis wrote. (Confusion followed Trump's Syria announcement.)

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