Pentagon official defends Mattis opposition to withdrawing troops in Syria

The Pentagon’s top special operations civilian, Owen West, defended former Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis’ opposition to President Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria.

“Mr. West, your former boss, Secretary Mattis, disagreed with the president’s plan to withdraw from Syria,” Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., said Wednesday during a House Armed Services Committee hearing regarding the Pentagon’s approach to counterterrorism. “Do you think he was wrong?”