Defense Secretary “Mad Dog” Mattis to Retire, Trump Says, Due to Syria Tension

Quinn Summerville, Reporter
December 21, 2018

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, a living Marine Corps legend who made history by securing special permission from Congress to lead the Pentagon, plans on retiring due to disagreements over the Syrian conflict between himself and the Commander in Chief, President Trump.

The president made the announcement via Twitter Thursday evening.

“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 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!”

Thursday, Mattis wrote in a resignation letter that he felt he could not carry on in a position where he was serving policies which he himself would not have supported or chartered.

“Because you have the right to have a secretary of defense whose views are better aligned with yours … I believe it is right for me to step down from my position,” he wrote.

Mattis’ letter cited his support for America’s “unique and comprehensive system of alliances and partnerships.” Trump’s differing views on how to approach those international relationships, Mattis wrote, is one reason he feels the President deserves a Secretary of Defense that shares his opinions.

General Mattis is sure to be remembered by his many years in public service, and of course, his nicknames earned through his ruthless and calculating reputation: “warrior monk”, “Mad Dog”, and “Chaos”.

John Dickerson of CBS News, for example, once asked Mattis in an interview what scared him or kept him up at night.

“Nothing,” he responded. “I keep other people up at night.”