US defence chief resigns over differences with Trump

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.

Mattis was reported to have gone to the White House on Thursday afternoon in an effort to persuade Trump to agree to a gradual withdrawal of troops from Syria and to leave a residual force of a few hundred, diplomatic sources said. He also opposed Trump’s plans to halve the US contingent in Afghanistan. His resignation suggests those appeals were rejected.

Mattis said he would stay in office until 28 February, to allow time for a successor to be nominated and confirmed by the Senate. His departure is likely to alarm US allies in Europe who saw Mattis as the embodiment of continuity in US defence policy in an otherwise erratic and often radical administration.

Mattis had doggedly stressed the importance of allies, and of Nato in particular, in the face of outspoken scepticism from the president. His resignation letter emphasized that theme as well as the need to remain “resolute and unambiguous” in the approach to China and Russia.

“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,” Mattis wrote. “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.

“Similarly, I believe we must be resolute and unambiguous in our approach to those countries whose strategic interests are increasingly in tension with ours,” he wrote, making clear he was referring primarily to China and Russia.

“My views on treating allies with respect and also being clear-eyed about both malign actors and strategic competitors are strongly held and informed by over four decades of immersion in these issues,” Mattis said, before making it clear he no longer believed the president shared those convictions.

“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 said. The letter offers no words of praise for the president.

Trump was the first to break the news of Mattis’s resignation, minutes before the Pentagon sent out the defence secretary’s letter. The president made no reference to policy differences.

“General Jim Mattis will be retiring, with distinction, at the end of February, after having served my Administration as Secretary of Defense for the past two years,” Trump tweeted.

“During Jim’s tenure, tremendous progress has been made, especially with respect to the purchase of new fighting equipment. General Mattis was a great help to me in getting allies and other countries to pay their share of military obligations. A new Secretary of Defense will be named shortly. I greatly thank Jim for his service!”