• Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis is stepping down, and his resignation letter released on Thursday offers some insight about what motivated his decision.
• "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," he continued.

Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis is leaving the White House and his resignation letter released to news organizations on Thursday give insight into why.

"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, a retired four-star Marine Corps general 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."

"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," he continued. The full letter can be read below:

According to the letter, Mattis will leave his post on February 28, 2019, "a date that should allow sufficient time for a successor to be nominated and confirmed," he wrote in his letter. Mattis served for 44 years in the US Marine Corps, and in his letter he expressed his appreciation for "this opportunity to serve the nation and our men and women in uniform."

Read more: Defense Secretary Jim Mattis quits, says his views aren't 'aligned' with Trump as president upends major US policies

On Thursday, President Donald Trump tweeted that Mattis was "retiring, with distinction, at the end of February."

"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 Jims tenure, tremendous progress has been made, especially with respect to the purchase of new fighting equipment," Trump said in a tweet. "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!"

The announcement about Mattis leaving his post comes one day after Trump announced a withdrawal of troops from Syria on Wednesday, a decision that allegedly surprised the Pentagon and drew ire from Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill .

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• Trump just radically upended US Syria policy despite repeated warnings that doing so could be disastrous
• Trump outright ignored Pentagon, State Department Syria policy in a big win for Putin
• Trump declares victory over ISIS as the US prepares to pull all troops out of Syria

SEE ALSO: 17 of the most legendary quotes from James Mattis, the four-star Marine general who just resigned as Trump's Defense Secretary </s> Yet another member of the Trump administration has quit, with the president announcing on December 20 that Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis will retire at the end of February 2019. We have more details here.

“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,” President Donald Trump tweeted on December 20. “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!”

Mattis’ resignation letter was made public shortly after Trump’s surprise announcement. His departure comes one day after Trump announced that the United States would be withdrawing 2000 troops from Syria, over the objections of senior military officials, and while the letter doesn’t name Syria specifically, it’s clear that he’s leaving the administration over the decision. It reads, in part, “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 on these issues… 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.”

Trump and Mattis have butted heads lately, with the president calling the secretary a “Democrat” in October during an interview with 60 Minutes, during which he also predicted Mattis’ departure. “General Mattis is a good guy,” he said. “We get along very well. He may leave. I mean, at some point, everybody leaves. Everybody. People leave. That’s Washington.” It was reported in September that Mattis and former Chief of Staff John Kelly, who also just quit, mocked the president behind his back. They allegedly called him an idiot and said that DC was a “crazytown.”

Obviously, Twitter is losing it over the umpteenth member of the Trump administration splitting. “Seems Mad dog Mattis is`nt mad enough to take the Donald on. retireing [sic] in Feb 19 You see Trump, god bless him, is really Mad. they don’t lose fights. so all you snowflakes out there be more deserning [sic] before you start a fight, you might pick on the wrong madman?” Another critic joked, “Uhhmmm… really? Mattis resignation letter, I’ll break it down for you. Trump you are an a**hole.” And another chimed in with a very good point: “Oh, my, and now I’ve read the Mattis letter. Trump didn’t understand what he read when he first saw it, that’s why his tweet is coherent and sane. Once Fox News explains to him that Mattis called him a traitorous twatwaffle he’s really gonna hit the roof.” </s> WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has announced that Defense Secretary Jim Mattis will retire at the end of February.

Trump says on Twitter that a new secretary of defense will be named soon.

Trump's announcement comes a day after he surprised U.S. allies and members of Congress by announcing the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria. </s> (CNN) — Defense Secretary Jim Mattis will step down from his position early next year, President Donald Trump announced 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,” Trump tweeted.

Trump touted the “tremendous progress” that has been made during Mattis’ tenure at the helm of the Defense Department and thanked Mattis for his service.

Trump announced Mattis’ exit a day after his plans to withdraw troops from Syria became public, a decision that Mattis and the President’s other top national security advisers opposed.

In a resignation letter from Mattis, Mattis said his views don’t “align” with the President’s.

“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 in his letter.

“One core belief I have always held is that our strength as a nation is inextricably linked to the strength of our unique and comprehensive system of alliances and partnerships. While the US remains the indispensable nation in the free world, we cannot protect our interests or serve that role effectively without maintaining strong alliances and showing respect to those allies,” he added. </s> WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump announced Thursday that Defense Secretary Jim Mattis would leave the Pentagon at the end of February.

The announcement came amid the two butting heads on the removal of U.S. troops from Syria, a key policy the president announced on Twitter Wednesday. The president said Mattis, 68, was retiring, but a letter from Mattis shows he resigned so the president could have a defense secretary "whose views are better aligned with yours."

In his resignation letter, Mattis also took a swipe at a tweet posted by the president on Thursday in which he defended his decision to withdraw 2,000 troops from Syria. America, Trump tweeted, should not act as the world’s "policeman."

“Like you, I have said from the beginning that the armed forces of the United States should not be the policeman of the world,” Mattis wrote. “Instead, we must use all the tools of American power to provide for the common defense, including providing effective leadership to our alliances.”

More: Defense Secretary Jim Mattis leaving his job after clash with Trump over Syria </s> WASHINGTON: Defence Secretary James Mattis has resigned, telling Donald Trump in a letter that he should choose a person who is more in tune with his world view after the US president decided to withdraw American troops from Syria.

Trump announced the resignation in two tweets on Thursday evening, and said Mattis, will leave at the end of February. Mattis was a great advocate of India-US defence relationship.

According to reports, 68-year-old Mattis went to the White House on Thursday afternoon in a last attempt to convince Trump to keep US troops in Syria. He was rebuffed, and told the president that he was resigning as a result.

In his extraordinary resignation letter, Mattis told Trump he had “the right to have a Secretary of Defence whose views are better aligned with yours”.

Mattis’ resignation letter, a Pentagon spokeswoman said was hand-delivered to the president.

In the letter, Mattis told Trump it was the “right time” for him to step down.

“The end date for my tenure is February 28, 2019, a date that 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,” Mattis said.

The Pentagon chief did not mention if he was resigning specifically over the troop withdrawal decision, which has surprised US allies and several lawmakers.

Analysts say the withdrawal of troops will please US enemies by clearing the way for Syria’s Bashar al-Assad regime, Russia and Iran. Mattis had warned that removing ground forces from the Middle Eastern country would be a “strategic blunder”. Currently, there are about 2,000 US forces in Syria.

After Mattis sent his resignation, Trump said, “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…,” he said on Twitter.

Mattis and Trump reportedly have had differences on several foreign policy matters, including Syria and Afghanistan. Reports say the president is also considering a drawdown of US troops from the 17-year-long conflict in Afghanistan.

Mattis said in his resignation letter that he believes the US must be resolute in its approach to countries whose strategic interests are increasingly in tension with America’s.

“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,” he stressed.

“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,” he added.

Mattis is the latest in long-list of senior Trump administration officials to leave or be removed. In March, Trump fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

On Thursday, Trump praised Mattis for his service and for being a “great help” to him in getting allies and other countries “to pay their share of military obligations”.

He said a new secretary of defence will be named shortly.

Defending his decision on Thursday to withdraw US troops from Syria, Trump tweeted that the US does not want to be the “policeman” of the Middle East. In his resignation letter, Mattis said, “Like you, I have said from the beginning that the armed forces of the United States should not be the policeman of the world.

“Instead, we must use all tools of American power to provide for the common defence, including providing effective leadership to our alliances.”

Mattis’ celebrated military career spanned four decades. Prior to joining Trump’s Cabinet, the four-star general was the head of US Central Command, which directs military operations and oversaw the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He was known before and during his White House tenure for his even-keeled demeanour and strategic mind and is broadly held in high esteem among Republicans and Democrats alike.

“I’m shaken by the news because of the patriot that Secretary Mattis is,” said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. PTI </s> Retired Gen. Jim Mattis, the outgoing Secretary of Defense, told staff at the Department of Defense to “keep the faith in our country” in a farewell message sent on Monday.

The short letter came on Mattis’ last day as Secretary of Defense, after he was forced out of the post following a clash with President Donald Trump over the decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria.

On February 1, 1865, President Lincoln sent to General Ulysses S. Grant a one sentence telegram. It read: “Let nothing which is transpiring, change, hinder, or delay your military movements, or plans.” Our Department’s leadership, civilian and military, remains in the best possible hands. I am confident that each of you remains undistracted from our sworn mission to support and defend the Constitution while protecting our way of life. Our Department is proven to be at its best when the times are most difficult. So keep the faith in our country and hold fast, alongside our allies, aligned against our foes. It has been my high honor to serve at your side. May God hold you safe on the air, on land, and at sea.

One day after President Trump unexpectedly announced U.S. troops would be withdrawn from Syria, Mattis announced he would be resigning.

His resignation letter was seen as a rebuke of Trump’s military policy, including his rhetorical attacks on NATO and other longtime U.S. allies. It ended with, “you have a right to have a Secretary of Defense whose views are better aligned with yours.”

Mattis was originally meant to leave his post at the end of February, in an effort to ensure a smooth handoff of control of the Pentagon. However, on Dec. 23, Trump abruptly moved Mattis’ resignation date forward to Jan. 1, 2019.

Mattis is scheduled to transfer responsibility to his deputy, Patrick Shanahan, on Monday evening. </s> US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis will be “retiring, with distinction,” in February, President Donald Trump has said, a day after he ordered American troops to rapidly withdraw from war-torn Syria in an abrupt decision criticised by many as premature.

In his resignation letter sent on Thursday, Mattis told Trump it was the “right time” for him to step down because the US president deserved a defence secretary “whose views are better aligned with yours on these and other subjects.”

“The end date for my tenure is February 28, 2019, a date that 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,” he said.

The 68-year-old Pentagon chief did not mention if he was resigning specifically over the troop withdrawal decision, which has surprised US allies and several lawmakers.

Analysts say the withdrawal of troops will please US enemies by clearing the way for Syria’s Assad regime, Russia and Iran. Mattis had warned that removing ground forces from the Middle Eastern country would be a “strategic blunder”.

After Mattis sent his resignation, Trump announced he will be “retiring” in February.

“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,” the president said.

“During Jim’s tenure, tremendous progress has been made, especially with respect to the purchase of new fighting…,” he said.

Mattis has been a great advocate of India-US defence relationship.

Earlier this month, he had hosted Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at the Pentagon for talks on India-US Defence relationship. “The US-India relationship is a natural partnership between the world’s oldest and the world’s largest democracy,” Mattis had said then.

Mattis and Trump reportedly have had differences on several foreign policy issues, including Syria and Afghanistan. Reports say the president is considering a drawdown of US troops from the 17-year-long conflict in Afghanistan.

He is the latest in long-list of senior Trump administration official to leave or removed. In March, Trump fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in an announcement on Twitter.

On Thursday however, Trump praised Mattis for his service and for being a “great help” to him in getting allies and other countries “to pay their share of military obligations”.

He said a new secretary of defence will be named shortly.

A day before, Trump had claimed in a tweet that the US has “defeated” the Islamic State terrorist group in Syria. The White House afterwards insisted that the main objective of American forces in the war-torn country was to destroy the ISIS and not to resolve the civil war.

But analysts and US lawmakers were far from convinced about the abrupt decision, which was also a reversal of the stated US policy. It has attracted criticism from leaders of Trump’s own Republican party, who argued that the hasty decision would endanger American national security in the long run.

Republican Senator Marco Rubio said the full and rapid withdrawal of US troops from Syria is a grave error with broader implications beyond just the fight against the ISIS group.

Currently, there are about 2,000 US forces in Syria.

Also, Mattis said in his resignation letter that he believes the US must be resolute in its approach to countries whose strategic interests are increasingly in tension with America’s.

“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,” he stressed.

“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,” he added.

Defending his decision on Thursday to withdraw from Syria, Trump had tweeted that the US does not want to be the “policeman” of the Middle East. In his resignation letter, Mattis said, “Like you, I have said from the beginning that the armed forces of the United States should not be the policeman of the world.

“Instead, we must use all tools of American power to provide for the common defense, including providing effective leadership to our alliances.” </s> Defense Secretary James Mattis is signing off at midnight Monday, as he hands the reins over to Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan. Mattis is leaving his post early than first announced, after Mr. Trump moved up his departure date.

Mattis had opposed a quick withdrawal from Syria, and his resignation letter stirred concern about national security even among the president's staunchest allies, like Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham. Mattis' replacement is a former defense contractor with no military experience.

Here is what Mattis wrote to the Pentagon in his farewell letter, obtained by CBS News correspondent David Martin:

The announcement that Mattis would leave the administration — followed by a string of other top departures — took Washington by surprise earlier this month. In his resignation letter, Mattis cited differences with the president, in what many interpreted as a stern rebuke from a quiet and reserved retired Marine general who avoided the spotlight.

"You have the right to have a secretary of defense whose views are better aligned with yours," Mattis wrote in his resignation letter.
U.S. Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis announces his resignation at the end of February 2019. Mattis says that his views are not well "aligned" with those of the President.