Defense Secretary James Mattis quits, says his views aren't 'aligned' with Trump's

I assume you're speaking about this instance below. I'm pasting it here so others have the context.

Link

President Donald Trump on Thursday seemed walk back his claim that ISIS, also known as the Islamic State Group, has been totally defeated, which he had cited a day before as the reason for his decision to abruptly pull US troops out of Syria.

Trump on Thursday tweeted that his decision to pull roughly 2,000 US troops out of Syria means other countries, including US adversaries, will have to continue the fight against ISIS.

"Does the USA want to be the Policeman of the Middle East, getting NOTHING but spending precious lives and trillions of dollars protecting others who, in almost all cases, do not appreciate what we are doing? Do we want to be there forever? Time for others to finally fight," Trump said.

He added: "Russia, Iran, Syria & many others are not happy about the U.S. leaving, despite what the Fake News says, because now they will have to fight ISIS and others, who they hate, without us. I am building by far the most powerful military in the world. ISIS hits us they are doomed!"

You sound like a liberal.

"Invaders and not liberators"? ISIS?? Have you even seen the videos from these people??? They're monsters, they are the epitome of evil. Let's not equate this to the Iraqis wanting us out of their country because we're invading them under the pretense of liberation. "Trying to force our way of life on them"? Again, ISIS? Uh, hello? Are you for real? We're doing (or at least, we were before Trump) everything in our power to stop them from trying to do the same to us. This isn't about liberation or trying to "force" our way of life on others, this is about combating an abhorrent ideology that transcends geography in its hatred and desire for the utter destruction and eradication of western values. Civilized society would cease to exist if ISIS had their way.

I don't believe we should be anywhere imposing our own lifestyle and values upon others, but with regards to ISIS, this isn't about that. These people are out of their minds, they're unconscionable barbarians, go onto bestgore and see for yourself. And right now, you can be assured they're celebrating our withdrawal. If you honestly believe that pulling out is going to quell their desire to crush us and the values we stand for because we're no longer "imposing" our lifestyle on them, boy, you are beyond naive and ignorant. All we will be doing by Trump's mandate is inviting them to bring the battle to our shores instead of fighting it on theirs. And then what will you do when our blood is shed by your own myopia? Predictably blame Democrats or bring about a new "whataboutism", as you typically do to shift blame for your own irresponsibility to excuse nothing but your own blind partisan hackery.

Don't blame him. Trump made nearly a complete 180 on the subject. That was a scathing resignation statement. He basically said Trumps recent foreign policy moves lack any morality.

Combine this with all the other Trump foibles, I predict his approval rating will be sub-40% in a couple of weeks.

Please occupy the world faster.

We need you to bomb us into freedom.

@Damedius: lol.

I am just a rationalist.

Do you know what created ISIS? They did not come out of the blue air, it came because the west decided to meddle in things that was not theirs to meddle in. Syria was a jewel until Europe and US thought it was fun to tell some people that if they rebelled against the "evil" dictator they would help and considering what happened in Libya it´s no wonder , these people thought "Hey lets go for it" Even though Gaddafi was the only thing keeping the various factions in check. And removing Gaddafi only revealed the tensions and massive internal problems.

So again how many American lives are enough? how long do you want us to stay because again as you saw with Manchester, our presence only create these terrorists, so maybe again it´s about time we stop trying to bomb people into the stone age and stop creating situations that just create more hate. And ISIS will come to Ameria or Mainland Europe no matter what, so perhaps it´s about time we build a "wall" and let the middle east alone.

So you can´t come and say ISIS need to be defeated because we can never get rid of them, the only people who can get rid of these extremists are the people living every day in these countries when they lose the populations support they will also slowly vanish. Again look at the Taliban, And i do not blame the Democrats, I blame Bush for bringing us into a war in Iraq on false pretences and I blame every single president and politician after Bush, for not stopping the mad idea that we can make people love democracy.

But i get it you hate republicans and conservatives so much that reason is lost on you, so when Trump finally says something valuable, it get´s lost because the hatred is so strong that you have blinds on.

"When Trump finally says something valuable."

That line right there speaks volumes.

@Jacanuk: With the troops leaving. Is there any plans for what do forward or is Syria left to its own?

trump has no plans. He's giving it to Russia.......

Assad has this in the bag so to speak, so no there are no plans to support the rebels anymore other than with good thoughts.

Which is the best thing and hopefully in a few years Syria will be a place where peace and tranquillity rules?

It will be interesting though to see how Turkey and Assad deal with the Kurds since they are allies with the US.

You mean like Clinton and Obama had zero plans and did not dare actually follow through on their promises to the rebels. (not that it´s a bad thing since Assad is what will keep Syria at peace)

@Jacanuk: no medical or aid? I mean the West kinda fucked it up for them. Should give the people some humanitarian help even if the troops pull out.

Not unless the rebels suddenly get in control. Especially Europe has gone hard in on being Anti-Assad so they can´t really suddenly back him with Aid even medical.

LOL when all you have is whataboutism..........I hope Santa drops some facts in your stocking this year.

Funny coming from someone who should try to hold up a mirror.

But don´t worry I know you have a bad case of the DTS.

Ah yes the made up name to use against those that don't drink the kool aid and see trump for what he is so his base can comfort themselves in their squalor. We did not you to reiterate you belong to the trump cult dude. We know.

@Jacanuk: I can't believe you're citing American imperialism as a defense for us withdrawing our support for fighting against ISIS. Get a clue as to what ISIS is about, then respond. Otherwise you just look like the ignorant Trump apologist you are. You damn well know if Obama had made this move you'd be singing a completely different tune. Hack...

Only once all the countries of the world lie in ruins will the American Empire truly be safe.

You again?

How do you have time to post? Shouldn't you be fighting a war somewhere?

Making the world safe for democracy and all that.

Or are you one of those chicken hawks?

You don't need to station troops in every Middle Eastern country to maintain alliances with other countries.

I can´t believe that you are acting like Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan went well.

And just for the record, I have been against the idea that America can somehow force the middle east to bow down to our way of life ever since Bush Jr found it necessary to invade Iraq.

Oh, and when are you going to sign up for our military, or are you all talk?

Pentagon is really scared by Mattis resignation. They are taking it very serously, Like somebody died.

Aid to the people, not Assad. Or work out a deal with Assad for aid to reach his people.

Don´t believe they would ever do that, Assad and Syria is persona non grata and it will take years before any European government and especially a us democratic government would begin to send aid.

It´s sad for the people of syria but world politics is a horrible place.

@MirkoS77: dude you do understand that we are directly and indirectly funding them. The cia funds one group and the Pentagon funds another entire group and the they fight each other.

Then we sell everyone their guns. Us being there helpa no one. Hell, we caised the war in the first place. We are making it longer and worse. The only people we were helping were the Kurds from being hit with a genocide and now they are up a creek with out a paddle.

I can't believe you are comparing the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya with ISIS. Christ, you mine as well go paint ISIS as poor little victims of American imperialism.

ISIS are insane. They burn people alive with glee. They recruit children to behead people. They massacre entire villages with a degree of brutality and sadism that is unfathomable in its cruelty. They aren't lining up people by the hundreds and beheading them because we're trying to impose democracy on them, Jacanuk. They're doing so because they're stone age (btw, you can't bomb people back to the stone age when that's already where they exist) barbarians who desire to implement Sharia law on the world under a caliphate. This isn't them wanting us out of their land, it's about them wanting to impose their disgusting ideology everywhere they can. You don't walk away from fighting that, and you don't abandon alliances and others who are doing the same, you proactively pursue its destruction with full vehemence and with every means available while building them, because they're not going to stop once we leave.

How many lives are enough? How many cops lives are enough? Hell, crime's never going to end, so let's stop fighting it and disband all police! Brilliant logic there, chief. It is the military's job to place their lives at risk to protect us.

And unlike some people in this world, I haven't been so blessed with my health, and unlike some people, I've had to fight to survive since my early twenties throughout my thirties against cancer. So I can't say I've had the honor (or the opportunity) to serve my country. What's your excuse? Do you have your health, and did you serve?

@hananexx: Yes, it shows that even his supporters understand most of what he says is of no positive value.

It really hurts to see him go, he was probably the best SECDEF that I served under. I don’t know how the conversation went between the two that led to him deciding to resign, but when it comes down to it I would trust Secretary Mattis’ opinion on combat operations over pretty much anybody else that works inside of the Beltway whether they are elected or not. However, in the end when it comes down to it, the Secretary of Defense is still subordinate to the president.

But let’s not pretend that most of the anger about the Syria withdrawal and Mattis’ resignation coming from liberals is based on anything other than TDS. These are the same people that were demanding that we pull out of Iraq and Afghanistan, and to divert a large chunk of the DOD’s budget to other pet projects that they were more interested in funding, with no concern of how it would affect the troops with the budget cuts.

Secretary Mattis was a warmongeror in their eyes and none of the people criticizing President Trump for his actions gave a shit when President Obama relieved General Mattis of his command when he was in charge of CENTCOM.

I will give some credit to the posters here and in other threads that have gave Trump credit for pulling the troops out of Syria. Even though they still despise him, at least they are being honest and are praising the decision (not the man that made it). Others would rather pretend they are worried about the international backlash or are taking it a step farther and claiming he’s pulling them out on orders from Putin because they wouldn’t want to be mistaken for someone that doesn’t hate Trump since a lack of showing absolute contempt somehow equals being a far-right Trumpette. The people giving him credit for his decision can at least say that a broken clock is right twice.

Blah blah blah trump apologist that doesn't have a clue what anyone else thinks so he's going with childish names. Congrats.

@MirkoS77: ISIS may desire it but they don't have the power to do so. Also Russia is there as well as some other countries. So why again does the US have to be there? The main reason the US was there was to topple Assad and put in place a puppet leader who's sympathetic to US imperialism. That's what it really was about. Save your BS about ISIS for a dumbazz. I don't like alot of things Trump's done, but on this issue he's damn right.

What childish names he go with?

Case in point: North Korea, who played Trump like the fool he is.

What are you, 15? Are you so afraid of being mistaken for someone that “likes” Trump that you are pretending that you care about any international backlash over Syria? Just like the Twitter Blue Checkmarks that are calling Trump stupid for withdrawing from Syria but were condeming us for being in the Middle East a few years ago?

You can say you’re happy we left Syria and that you hate Trump in the same sentence. Me personally, I don’t worry about what others think because I left that behind when I stopped being a teenager.

And on the flip side, many who would crucify such a decision from Obama are bending over backwards to justify it for Trump. My father, an ardent Trump supporter and hater of Obama, had a discussion with me last night defending and trying to justify Trump's decision. This is a man who spent a career in the defense industry, a top scientist within Lockheed during the eighties, a die-hard neocon, who's main support of Trump's move now mostly whittles down to "well, he's at least kept his promises". To say nothing if it's actually beneficial to the country's or world's best interests. I asked him if he'd be singing the same tune had this been done under Obama, he had enough courage to say no because he didn't support him.

So, there it is. The Right would be going absolutely batshit insane if a democratic president were taking this course of action, with such opposition that those in his cabinet are dropping like flies and adding to the pile, no less. We wouldn't be hearing the end of it. Yea, I'll trust Mattis with decades of foreign policy and field experience on this one instead of some reality TV host simpleton with no political experience whatsoever, who makes up reality at his whims, who simply walks into the OO thinking he knows what's best because his "gut" tells him so.

Two wrongs don’t make a right, the decision should be based on the situation on the ground, not politics. The president may have access to classified info about the situation that gives him more insight on the decision, but if Secretary Mattis is against it then it gives me concern with his level of experience especially since he probably has access to the same info. Trump may be president, but Mattis has been doing this for decades.

I’m calling out the hypocrisy because many of the people that are criticizing Trump for the decision were some of the biggest anti-war mouthpieces out there. When you see posters that repeatedly stated that we had no business in Iraq or Afghanistan bashing Trump for pulling out now, then you know their complaints are partisan. People on the right praising Trump for decisions they would have criticized Obama for aren’t much better.

Then again, it’s hard for me to take some of these people complaing about Syria seriously when they act like Trump is literally the reincarnation of Hitler and wants to be a facist dictator, but at the same time those people want to ban guns and give the government that is being ran by “Orange Hitler” full control of all of the guns...

Sure, but Trump is the one playing politics. His moves aren't what's in the best interest of the country, it's predicated upon how it will reflect on him and the promises he's made. He plays partisan, he's not a president of the United States, he's president of the Republican party. He makes everything into a partisan squabble whenever the opportunity arises. Trump's a narcissist of the highest order, and I don't think any of his supporters would even argue against such. The whole wall fiasco exemplifies this. Those who are gullible enough will believe it's about border security and immigration, that's nothing but projection, but to Trump it's about him not losing face to his base. This isn't to say I don't believe that some of his motivation derives from border security, only that it's not the driving factor.

The Trump presidency has been nothing about anything but Trump's ego and his reputation above all else. Anyone who believes otherwise is being taken for a ride. To believe this man will put the country's interests above his own is utterly laughable.

You keep on that note, but what did North Korea gain from the talks?

Are you 12? Because that's the comment kids make. I'm talking trump in general. You spent several paragraphs doing mental gymnastics in his defense.

And once you start with TDS then you lose ALL credibility. That is childish and it's done to make YOU feel like you're right supporting the clown. You cannot take any criticism of him without losing your mind so you conservatives invented a word to shelter yourselves and absolutely NOT examine why there is criticism of him in the first place.

I have lost all respect I had for you as a person even if we didn't agree politically when you started using TDS. The refuge of the uneducated.

I'm okay with pulling out. I don't think we were ever going to be able to overthrow Assad after we finished with ISIS anyhow and the western allied rebels haven't been doing too well. Or does anyone here actually think we'd do a combo knockout of ISIS with Western, Russian, and Assad forces and then all sit down and make Syria a better place for... oh that's right none of us agree?

@LJS9502_basic: You’ve called me alt-right on more than one occasion, and you questioned my loyalty to the military and my country because I don’t absolutely despise Trump, but you are offended if I mention TDS even though I didn’t specifically call you out for it in this thread? Something inside me tells me that you lost respect for me a long time ago.

If the shoe fits, wear it. I am willing to say what things I agree with and what things I disagree with and Trump has done plenty of things I disagree with to include pushing Mattis out. You are so worried about being mistaken for a Trump sympathizer that even when he does something you may agree with you go into defensive mode and refuse to acknowledge it. As many times as you posted how you think we were in the Middle East for the wrong reasons, you expect me to believe you are actually upset about leaving Syria?

But you do you, and while it’s nice to be respected losing your respect isn’t going to make me any less of a person. In fact, if I met you in the street and you needed my help I would still help you because I don’t let politics control my life. This forum reminds me why my friends and I avoid talking about politics since we all know that we voted for different people but we still have plenty of other things in common.

I dismiss anyone who uses the term TDS. Doesn't matter if it's not directed toward me. It's a childish name to hide the fact that your great leader was criticized.

I'm not in the least worried about being mistaken for a trump sympathizer since only a real moron would think I was one. I can respect those with differing political leanings but not those using terms like TDS to avoid reality.

Fine, I will try to refrain from using TDS from here on if you agree to try and refrain calling me alt-right.

Also, I don't consider all disagreement with the president as unfounded, I know that there are a lot of legitimate reasons to criticize him and anybody that says otherwise is blind.

In this particular situation, when people that are normally anti-war are suddenly criticizing Trump for pulling out of Syria then it makes you ask if the problem is the withdrawal itself or the person ordering the withdrawal.

Regardless of what you and the rest of the forum thinks of me, I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas.

Build up in superweapons? Don't tell me you haven't been paying attention after Trump said "Oh, I brought peace with NK." (he didn't)

What they have always wanted, to be legitimized. They wanted a seat at the big boy table and Trump kindly gave them that free of charge.

Was quite the photo op for North Korea. Not only did they get to meet face to face with the POTUS but the world's GREATEST deal maker....and they didn't even need to drop their nuclear program!

Yep and they also got the US to stop doing military exercises in the region, truly a great deal that only the stable genius Trump could have made.