US Defense Secretary resigns

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has resigned Thursday in protest of President Trump’s decision to withdraw American forces from Syria and his rejection of international alliances.

"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," Mattis wrote to Trump in a pointed two-page letter that he hand-delivered to the commander in chief earlier Thursday afternoon.