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US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis resigns | |
(35 minutes later) | |
US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis will be retiring "with distinction" at the end of February, President Donald Trump announced on Thursday. | US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis will be retiring "with distinction" at the end of February, President Donald Trump announced on Thursday. |
Mr Trump tweeted that General Mattis "was a great help to me in getting allies and other countries to pay their share of military obligations". | Mr Trump tweeted that General Mattis "was a great help to me in getting allies and other countries to pay their share of military obligations". |
It comes a day after the president's controversial announcement that all US troops would be withdrawn from Syria. | |
Mr Trump did not name a successor, but said one would be appointed shortly. | |
In his resignation letter, Gen Mattis described his views on "treating allies with respect" and using "all the tools of American power to provide for the common defence". | |
"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," Gen Mattis wrote. | |
Mr Trump announced his decision to withdraw the 2,000 US troops from Syria on Wednesday, asserting that the Islamic State (IS) group had been defeated there. | |
The news, which was met with strong criticism, is at odds with Mr Mattis' position, who had warned that an early withdrawal from the country would be a "strategic blunder". | |
US troops have helped rid much of Syria's north-east of the jihadist group, but pockets of fighters remain. | |
The White House would not give a timescale for the withdrawal but defence officials quoted by the New York Times said President Trump wanted it done within 30 days. |