US PRESIDENT, TRUMP’S DEFENCE CHIEF RESIGNS OVER DECISION TO WITHDRAW TROOPS FROM SYRIA
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Four-star Marine general, James Mattis turned United States defence secretary, resigned on Thursday (Dec 20) in protest of President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw 2,000 US troops from Syria, where they have been fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
Mr Trump announced the resignation in two tweets on Thursday evening, and said Mr Mattis will leave at the end of February.
Officials said Mr Mattis went to the White House on Thursday afternoon in a last attempt to convince Mr Trump to keep US troops in Syria. He was rebuffed, and told the President that he was resigning as a result.
Mr Mattis said in the letter that he believes that the President deserves a defence secretary who is more in tune with his worldview.
“One core belief I have always held is that our strength as a nation is inextricably linked to the strength of our unique and comprehensive system of alliances and partnerships,” Mr Mattis wrote.
“Because you have the right to have a Secretary of Defence 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,” he wrote.
As defence secretary, Mr Mattis oversaw the world’s most powerful military, supervising active-duty troops based in the US and deployed worldwide, including in war zones in Afghanistan, Iraq and on the Saudi border with Yemen.
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