The former general relates that as Defence Sec, he did as much as he could for as long as he could….
In late December, after Trump announced plans to withdraw US troops from Syria, Mattis resigned as the President’s first defense secretary. Since taking office, Trump, a frequent NATO skeptic, has been sharply critical of some members of the alliance, and notably broke with members of the G7 over the weekend in pushing for Russia to rejoin the group.
In the excerpt published Wednesday [in the WSJ], Mattis wrote that his resignation last year came after his “concrete solutions and strategic advice, especially keeping faith with our allies, no longer resonated.” In his letter last year, Mattis wrote that he was stepping down because Trump has “the right to have a Secretary of Defense whose views are better aligned” with his own.
In the essay, Mattis was clear in his defense of international coalitions, writing: “Having fought many times in coalitions, I believe that we need every ally we can bring to the fight. From imaginative military solutions to their country’s vote in the U.N., the more allies the better. I have never been on a crowded battlefield, and there is always room for those who want to be there alongside us.”
image…pbs.org