Outgoing Defense Secretary James Mattis’s decision to leave the administration over President Trump’s plan to pull U.S. troops out of Syria is being considered the “definition of patriotism and integrity,” at least by his family, according to The Seattle Times.
“No one should assume that his service to his country will end. And the manner of his departure is yet another service to the nation. It is the very definition of patriotism and integrity,” Tom Mattis, James Mattis’s older brother, told The Seattle Times earlier this week.
The departing defense secretary called his brother over the weekend to inform him that instead of leaving the administration in February, as he planned to do with his resignation, President Trump wanted him to leave sooner.
“He was very calm about the whole thing. Very matter of fact. No anger, ” Tom Mattis reportedly said. “As I have said many times in other circumstances, Jim knows who he is … many more Americans (now) know his character.”
Before announcing his decision to pull the U.S. out of Syria, Trump reportedly ignored the advice of his closest advisers, including James Mattis, who reportedly warned that ISIS still has a footing in the region and told Trump that a U.S. withdrawal would ignite chaos.
