US SecDef James Mattis' Resignation Letter

On December 21, 2018, US Secretary of Defense General James Norman Mattis resigned. His announcement came a day after President Donald Trump said he was withdrawing troops from Syria(without consulting his national security team or allies). Mattis felt strongly that the U.S. should remain in Syria following the defeat of ISIS to ensure they did not regroup.

کد خبر: ۸۶۲۵۹۹

تاریخ: ۰۱ دی ۱۳۹۷ - ۰۸:۴۵

His resignation letter contained language that appeared to criticize Trump's worldview, praising NATO, which Trump has often derided, and the 74-nation Defeat-ISIS coalition that Trump had just decided to abandon.

Through his resignation letter, Mattis also affirmed the need for "treating allies with respect and also being clear-eyed about both malign actors and strategic competitors," and remaining "resolute and unambiguous" against authoritarian states such as China and Russia. He wrote that Trump has "the right to have a Secretary of Defense whose views are better aligned with [his] on these and other subjects."

According to Anthony Zurcher, BBC News, "Donald Trump may try to spin James Mattis's departure as retirement after a lifetime of government service. It's not. This is a protest resignation, plain and simple".

To learn more, read the enclosed resignation letter;

Page 1 of General Mattis' Resignation Letter, dated December 20, 2018

Page 2 of General Mattis' Resignation Letter, dated December 20, 2018

At the time of Mattis' appointment, Dr. Christopher A. Preble, vice president for defense and foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute said - "The Warrior Monk (Mattis) has a deep knowledge of history which could serve him well if President Trump is inclined to listen to his SecDef". Well, it seems President didn't.