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A6 THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2018 Mattis resigning as Pentagon chief By ZEKE MILLER and LOLITA BALDOR Associated Press WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Jim Mat- tis resigned after clash- ing with President Donald Trump over the abrupt with- drawal of U.S. troops from Syria and after two years of deep disagreements over America’s role in the world. Mattis, perhaps the most respected foreign policy offi - cial in Trump’s administra- tion, will leave by the end of February after two tumultu- ous years struggling to soften and moderate the president’s hardline and sometimes sharply changing policies. He told Trump in a letter that he was leaving because “you have a right to have a Secretary of Defense whose views are better aligned with yours.” His departure was imme- diately lamented by for- eign policy hands and law- makers on both sides of the aisle, who viewed the retired Marine general as a sober voice of experience in the ear of a president who had never held political offi ce or served in the military. Even Trump allies expressed fear over Mattis’ decision to quit, believing him to be an important moderating force on the president. “Just read Gen. Mattis resignation letter,” tweeted Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. “It makes it abundantly clear that we are headed toward a series of grave pol- icy errors which will endan- ger our nation, damage our alliances & empower our adversaries.” Mattis did not mention the dispute over Syria in his letter or proposed deep cuts to U.S. forces in Afghani- stan, another signifi cant pol- icy dispute. He noted his “core belief” that Ameri- can strength is “inextricably linked” with the nation’s alli- ances with other countries, a position seemingly at odds with the “America First” policy of the president. The defense secretary also said China and Russia want to spread their “author- itarian model” and promote their interests at the expense of America and its allies. “That is why we must use all the tools of American power to provide for the common defense,” he wrote. The announcement came a day after Trump surprised U.S. allies and members of the administration’s often Congress by announcing the chaotic national security withdrawal of all U.S. troops decisions and to soften some from Syria, and as he con- of Trump’s sharper tones tinues to consider cutting in with allies. half the American deploy- Opponents of Mattis, ment in Afghanistan by this however, have seen him summer. The news coin- as an unwanted check on cided with domestic turmoil Trump. as well — Trump’s fi ght Mattis went to the White with Congress over a border House Thursday afternoon wall and a looming to resign after fail- partial government ing to persuade the shutdown. president in a tense Trump’s deci- Oval Offi ce meeting sion to pull troops to change his deci- out of Syria has been sion on withdrawing sharply criticized for troops from Syria, abandoning Ameri- according to two Jim ca’s Kurdish allies, people with knowl- Mattis who may well face a edge of the conver- Turkish assault once sation but not autho- U.S. troops leave, and had rized to discuss it publicly. been staunchly opposed by Another U.S. offi cial said the Pentagon. that Mattis’ decision was Mattis, in his resignation his own, and not a “forced letter, emphasized the impor- resignation.” The offi cial tance of standing up for U.S. spoke on condition of ano- allies — an implicit criticism nymity to discuss internal of the president’s decision on deliberations. this issue and others. Trump said a replacement “While the U.S. remains would be chosen soon. the indispensable nation in “The president’s national the free world, we cannot security team’s job is to give protect our interests or serve him advice and it’s the pres- that role effectively without ident’s job to make a deci- maintaining strong alliances sion,” said press secretary and showing respect to those Sarah Sanders. allies,” Mattis wrote. At the start of the Trump Last year, Republican administration, the president Sen. Bob Corker — a fre- had gushed about his respect quent Trump critic — said for Mattis, repeatedly call- Mattis, along with White ing him “Mad Dog,” despite House chief of staff John Mattis’ own public insis- Kelly and then-Secretary of tence that the moniker was State Rex Tillerson, were never his. Instead, his nick- helping “separate our coun- name for years was CHAOS, try from chaos.” which stood for “Colonel Tillerson was fi red early Has An Outstanding Sugges- this year. Kelly is to leave tion,” and refl ected Mattis’ the White House in the com- more cerebral nature. ing days. The two quickly clashed “This is scary,” reacted on major policy decisions. Sen. Mark Warner, the top During his fi rst conversa- Democrat on the Senate tions with Trump about the intelligence committee, on Pentagon job, Mattis made it Twitter. “Secretary Mattis clear that he disagreed with has been an island of stabil- his new boss in two areas: ity amidst the chaos of the He said torture doesn’t work, Trump administration.” despite Trump’s assertion “Jim Mattis did a superb during the campaign that it job as Secretary of Defense. did, and he voiced staunch But he cannot be expected support for traditional U.S. to stand behind a President international alliances, who disrespects our allies including NATO, which and ingratiates himself to Trump repeatedly criticized. our adversaries,” said Wil- Mattis was credited by liam Cohen, who served as some in the administra- defense secretary under Bill tion for blocking an execu- Clinton and knows Mattis tive order that would have well. reopened CIA interrogation Mattis’ departure has long “black sites.” Trump has been rumored, but offi cials said the Pentagon chief con- close to him have insisted vinced him it wasn’t neces- that the battle-hardened sary to bring back banned retired Marine would hang torture techniques like on, determined to bring mil- waterboarding. itary calm and judgment to VOLUNTEER PICK OF THE WEEK Amity Senior Female American Medium Hair WANTED Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA CLATSOP COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER 1315 SE 19th St., Warrenton • 861- PETS Noon to 4pm, Tues-Sat www.dogsncats.org Associated Press Trump call with Turkish leader led to US pullout from Syria WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s deci- sion to withdraw American troops from Syria was made hastily, without consulting his national security team or allies, and over strong objections from virtually every- one involved in the fi ght against the Islamic State group, according to U.S. and Turkish offi cials. Trump stunned his Cabinet, lawmakers and much of the world with the move by rejecting the advice of his top aides and agreeing to a withdrawal in a phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week, two U.S. offi cials and a Turkish offi cial said. The Dec. 14 call provides insight into a consequential Trump decision that prompted the resignation of widely respected Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. It also set off a frantic, four-day scramble to convince the president either to reverse or delay the decision. The White House rejected the description of the call from the offi cials but was not specifi c. Trump says a shutdown could ‘last for a very long time’ WASHINGTON — Facing a midnight deadline to avoid a partial government shutdown, President Donald Trump said today a closure could drag on “for a very long time” and he tried to lay blame on congressional Demo- crats if there’s no deal over his demand for U.S.-Mexico border wall money. Trump’s tweet came ahead of a meeting with Senate Republicans to discuss the budget deal and border secu- rity. The Senate has been called back into session to con- sider the package approved by House Republicans late Thursday, which includes the $5.7 billion Trump wants for the border with Mexico. Senators had passed their own bipartisan bill earlier in the week to keep the government running, with bor- der security at existing levels, $1.3 billion, but no money for the wall. Both bills would extend government funding through Feb. 8. More than 800,000 federal workers will be facing fur- loughs or forced to work without pay if a resolution is not reached before funding expires at midnight. USDA moves to tighten work requirements for food stamps WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is set- ting out to do what this year’s farm bill didn’t: tighten work requirements for millions of Americans who receive federal food assistance. The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday pro- posed a rule that would restrict the ability of states to exempt work-eligible adults from having to obtain steady employment to receive food stamps. The move comes the same day that President Don- ald Trump signed an $867 billion farm bill that reautho- rized agriculture and conservation programs while leav- ing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which serves roughly 40 million Americans, virtually untouched. Passage of the farm bill followed months of tense negotiations over House efforts to signifi cantly tighten work requirements and the Senate’s refusal to accept the provisions. LAST MINUTE GIFT IDEAS Buy a $25 Gift Certificate and we’ll give you an additional $5 Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500 Rent Movies for the Holidays GAME MEAT PROCESSING All movies rent for 5 days New Releases: $3.50 for 5 days Category Films: $1.99 for 5 days Debbie D’s will be at Cash & Carry in Warrenton at 10:00 a.m. every Saturday to pick up and deliver meat for processing. A classically beautiful kitty, perfect for providing respite from life’s fast pace & rough edges. Sponsored by Bayshore Animal Hospital En route to his fi rst visit to Iraq as defense secre- tary, Mattis bluntly rebuffed Trump’s assertion that America might take Iraqi oil as compensation for U.S. efforts in the war-torn country. The two also were divided on the future of the Afghan- istan war, with Trump com- plaining from the fi rst about its cost and arguing for with- drawal. Mattis and others ultimately persuaded Trump to pour additional resources and troops into the confl ict to press toward a resolution. U.S. offi cials say there now is active planning in the Pentagon that would pull as many as half the 14,000 U.S. troops out of Afghanistan by summer. They say no fi nal decision has been made. Trump also chafed at the Pentagon’s slow response to his order to ban transgen- der people from serving in the military. That effort has stalled due to multiple legal challenges. More recently, Trump bypassed Mattis’ choice for the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Gen. David Goldfein, the Air Force chief, was Mattis’ top choice, but Trump chose Gen. Mark Milley, the chief of the Army. The Pentagon has appeared to be caught off guard by a number of Trump policy declarations, often made through Twitter. Those include plans that ultimately fi zzled to have a big mili- tary parade this month and the more recent decision to send thousands of active duty troops to the Southwest border. Mattis has determinedly kept a low public profi le, striving to stay out of the news and out of Trump’s line of fi re. Those close to him have repeatedly insisted that he would not quit, and would have to either be fi red or die in the job. But others have noted that a two-year stint as defense chief is a normal and respectable length of service. Born in Pullman, Wash- ington, Mattis enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1969, later earning a history degree from Central Washington University. He was commis- sioned as an offi cer in 1972. As a lieutenant colonel, he led an assault battalion into Kuwait during the fi rst U.S. war with Iraq in 1991. 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