The U.S. Withdrawal From Syria: Here’s the Latest – The New York Times

“My views on treating allies with respect and also being cleareyed about both malign actors and strategic competitors are strongly held,” he wrote in his resignation letter.

Mr. Mattis, an experienced, retired four-star Marine general, had been seen as a counterbalance to Mr. Trump’s unpredictable decision-making. But it appeared he had reached his limit.

“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 wrote.

Dec. 22: Another major figure steps down.

Brett McGurk, the special presidential envoy to the coalition fighting the Islamic State, accelerated his own resignation, telling colleagues he could not in good conscience carry out Mr. Trump’s planned withdrawal of American troops from Syria.

Mr. McGurk had already been planning to retire from his post in February, but in an email to his staff, he said he had decided to move his departure forward, to Dec. 31. He voiced concern for coalition partners still fighting ISIS in the region.

“The recent decision by the president came as a shock and was a complete reversal of policy that was articulated to us,” Mr. McGurk said in the email. “It left our coalition partners confused and our fighting partners bewildered.”

Dec. 26: Trump agrees to slow down the process.

President Trump, after a meeting with Lt. Gen. Paul LaCamera, the top American commander in Iraq and Syria, agreed to extend the drawdown from 30 days to four months.