Dem senator: Syria withdrawal the ‘straw that broke the camel’s back’ for Mattis

Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I) says President Trump’s decision to withdraw from Syria was the “straw that broke the camel’s back” and led Defense Secretary James Mattis to resign.

“The policy was so wrongheaded, was so ill-conceived, so detached from the reality on the ground that he just could not continue to serve,” said Reed, a veteran and the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Thursday on CNN. 

{mosads}Mattis announced Thursday that he would resign at the end of February and made it clear his views were not in line with President Trump’s. In his resignation letter, Mattis told the president he deserved a secretary “whose views are better aligned with yours.”

The announcement came a day after the Trump administration stunned Washington by announcing it would withdraw the U.S. military from Syria. The decision caught lawmakers and the Pentagon off guard and has sparked criticism from both parties.

“I did not expect him to resign, I think that came later in the day when he tried his best to convince the president after listening to many people that this was a terrible policy, that would endanger the United States and our allies,” Reed explained.

“He left criticizing the president’s approach to national security,” he added.  

.@SenJackReed tells @JimSciutto that President Trump’s plans to withdraw troops from Syria “was the straw that broke the camel’s back” for Mattis.

“The policy was so wrongheaded, was so ill-conceived … he just could not continue to serve,” Reed adds.https://t.co/zCvuGBZMq1 pic.twitter.com/2o3yrcyb8m

— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) December 21, 2018 

Mattis’s announcement sparked worry in Washington, with many lawmakers saying the former general was an important counterweight to the president’s foreign policy instincts. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he was “distressed” by Mattis’s exit.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is planning to introduce a resolution urging the president to rethink his plans to pull out from Syria.

Graham spoke with Mattis and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about Trump’s withdrawal announcement. On Thursday, Graham said Mattis “thought that the time was not right to leave” and Pompeo “understands that the conditions on the ground are not right yet for us to leave.”