Almost from the beginning of his tenure as President Trump’s defense secretary retired Marine Gen. Jim Mattis faced questions over how he could continue to serve a president who did not share his core values.
Particularly his belief in the importance of allies, and an understanding that protecting America’s friends was as much in our interests as theirs.
As Trump ignored Mattis’ advice on issue after issue, his position became increasingly untenable. The president’s decision to precipitously pull all U.S. pull troops out of Syria and thereby abandon America’s Kurdish allies was more than he could take.
“Because you have the right to have a Secretary of Defense 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,” Mattis wrote a letter of resignation. Mattis brought the letter with him to the White House Thursday, in one last desperate measure to get the president to reconsider his decision.
Mattis said he would step down Feb. 28, 2019, which he added: “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.”
It’s All About the Allies
Mattis spent a lot of his time traveling, trying the reassure nervous allies that despite Trump’s frequent bullying and demands for payment in return for U.S. military protection, in the end, America would have their backs. As Trump pulled the rug out from the 74-nation counter-ISIS coalition — without consulting the other allies such as Britain and France who have troops on the ground in Syria as well — it was an argument Mattis could no longer make with a clear conscience.
“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 wrote. “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.”
Afghanistan Drawdown
One of Mattis’ key belief is there is no military solution to most of the world’s problems, and the role of the military is to make sure U.S. diplomats negotiate from a position of strength. Trump’s decision — reported Thursday night after Mattis’ resignation — to order 7,000 U.S. troops out of Afghanistan, undercuts the strategy of convincing the Taliban it can’t just outwait the U.S.
The departure of U.S. troops is a key demand of the Taliban, and the withdrawal gives away a significant bargaining chip. It signals that the U.S. is war-weary and doesn’t have the resolve to stick to its stated goal of convincing the Taliban it can’t win on the battlefield.
Bipartisan Praise for Mattis, Scorn for Trump
Make no mistake, this is no routine cabinet departure. Mattis felt it was his duty to help a president with no foreign policy experience, and a notable lack of patience for nuance and detail, steer the ship of state through treacherous waters. Mattis believed he was serving the nation, and upholding the Constitution, above his service to the president.
In his resignation letter, notably did not thank the president personally, but instead wrote, “I very much appreciate this opportunity to serve the nation and our men and women in uniform.”
Lawmakers and former military and defense officials expressed concerns in statements about Mattis’s departure.
“I believe it’s essential that the United States maintain and strengthen the post-World War II alliances that have been carefully built by leaders in both parties,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said in a statement. “So I was sorry to learn that Secretary Mattis, who shares those clear principles, will soon depart the administration. But I am particularly distressed that he is resigning due to sharp differences with the president on these and other key aspects of America’s global leadership.”
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., in a tweet., offered implicit criticism of the president. “Just read Gen. Mattis resignation letter. It makes it abundantly clear that we are headed towards a series of grave policy errors which will endanger our nation, damage our alliances & empower our adversaries.”
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas., mentioned the special dispensation Congress gave to Mattis nearly two years ago waiving the normal waiting period between active duty military control and the top civilian defense post.
“In January 2017, Congress took an extraordinary action by passing a law that allowed James N. Mattis to serve as Secretary of Defense. The only other time it has been done was for General George C. Marshall,” Thornberry said in a statement. “Americans and freedom-loving people around the world have rightfully trusted his steady hand and sound judgment leading the United States Department of Defense.”
“The kind of leadership that causes a dedicated patriot like Jim Mattis to leave should give pause to every American.”
