After the resignation announcement by U.S. Secretary of defense Jim Mattis for February, announced President Donald Trump, to replace him for the year, for the time being, by Deputy Patrick Shanahan. “I am pleased to announce that our very talented Deputy Minister of defence, Patrick Shanahan from 1. January the acting Minister for defence from 1. January 2019 carries the title of Acting Minister of defence,” wrote Trump on Sunday in the short message service Twitter. “He will be great.”
Mattis announced on Thursday because of differences with the President for the end of February for his resignation. A day earlier, Trump had announced a surprise withdrawal of US army from Syria. It’s not just the USA’s allies in the fight against IS a lack of understanding, but also in the United States is highly controversial.
Because of its rejection of a quick and complete U.S. withdrawal from Syria, the U.S. special envoy for the fight against the jihadists militia Islamic state (IS), Brett McGurk, his Post prematurely. Instead, in February he differed already at 31. December from the office, informed the Ministry of foreign Affairs in Washington.
Trump announced last week, all of the 2000 U.S. soldiers from Syria to deduct – with the justification that ISIS is defeated. The decision met with national and international large lack of understanding. On Sunday, France’s head of state, Emmanuel Macron criticized the move and warned: “An ally is guilty, to be reliable.”
Trump should have taken the decision against the advice of important members of the Cabinet, against the advice of Mattis. Experts remind that the IS is not defeated, and a deduction have fatal consequences. Also, in trump’s own party, the decision sparked outrage and concern.
Shortly after the decision Mattis had said that he would vacate at the end of February from his Post. In a published Letter to Trump, he justified this with substantive disagreements – among others, due to Trumps rate against allies. International partners need to be treated with respect, he said.
US media reported that Trump was very upset about this public Protest of. On Saturday, Trump spoke publicly for the first time to Mattis retreat and responded to his ratios are relatively low on Mattis’ full frontal attack. Ex-President Barack Obama fired Mattis at the time, wrote Trump. “I gave him a second Chance.” He spoke with a view to Mattis as a “interesting relationship” and disagreed with the criticism. “Allies are very important, but not if you take advantage of the United States,” wrote Trump.
With the early repayment of Mattis Trump set a clear sign against his Minister. Its successor Shanahan was formerly a Manager in the aviation group Boeing and 2017, the Deputy defense Minister.
Trump also commented contemptuously on the resignation of McGurk. This had been Obama. Trump commented, McGurk would be anyway to stay until February on his Post and now I have briefly explained before its withdrawal. The “Fake News”-the media made a big deal out of this “void event”. He knew McGurk. The leading actors in the then-Obama administration described it as a poverty certificate that Trump the messenger of his significant special don’t know.
The President also complained bitterly about the criticism of his Syria decision. Others would have been celebrated for such a decision, as a hero, he will be reprimanded by the media is difficult, he wrote.
At the same time, Trump changed after criticism wave his choice of words with a view to the IS and now wrote, the IS was defeated “largely”. Other countries in the Region, including Turkey, could now be easily done, what is left of the terrorist organization left. Previously, Trump had declared on several occasions, the IS is defeated in Syria completely.
More about
US foreign policy under Trump, The end of all illusions
Juliane Schäuble
The President tried to dispel the impression that the decision get rushed, ill-considered and unprepared. On Sunday, he wrote on Twitter that he had just seeds with the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan about the “long and highly coordinated” withdrawal of U.S. soldiers from Syria spoke. (AFP, dpa)