US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis resigns, citing differences with Trump

On Thursday, US defence secretary James Mattis has resigned, allowing US President Donald Trump to have a defence secretary whose views are better aligned with him. Mattis cited differences with Donald Trump over foreign policy for his resignation.

Mattis told Trump in his resignation letter, he had “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”.

In his letter Mattis wrote, “The end date for my tenure is February 28, 2019, a date that should allow sufficient time for a successor to be nominated and confirmed as well as to make sure the Department’s interests are properly articulated and protected at upcoming events to include Congressional posture hearings and the NATO Defense Ministerial meeting in February”.

On Thursday evening President Trump announced defence secretary’s resignation on twitter and mentioned that new defence secretary will be named shortly.

Trump wrote on twitter, “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. During Jim’s tenure, tremendous progress has been made, especially with respect to the purchase of new fighting….”

Trump added, “….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!”

Defence secretary Jim Mattis resigned a day after Donald Trump announced immediate withdrawal of US troops from war torn Syria and to start the significant troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Jim Mattis had opposed the withdrawal of troops from Syria and Afghanistan from the strategic point of view. Mattis also had differences with Trump about international policies and affairs.

In his resignation letter Mattis stressed on treating allies with respect and to do everything that is most conducive for security and prosperity America.

He said, “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 added, “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”.

Yamini Singh

As a quick news writer, Yamini has written numerous articles, blogs and news edits at various platforms and is now a part of Prediction Junction. She loves to give a natural flair of reading to her readers and works with full diligence to achieve it.

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