Analysis: Trump's frontrunners for Pentagon job likely to share Mattis' views on Syria, Afghanistan
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said President Trump deserves a Pentagon leader “whose views are better aligned” with the commander-in-chief's, but a search for such a person will be a lot harder after Trump’s decisions on Syria and Afghanistan.
Mattis' resignation Thursday, which will take effect in February, came shortly after Trump announced that the U.S. military will withdraw from Syria and pull back from Afghanistan.
While Mattis’ departure was considered imminent amid his opposition to the Army staff changes Trump was considering, the Syria decision ultimately pushed him to quit after he failed to convince the president to reconsider the move.
A source close to the president told Fox News that Gen. Jack Keane and Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., are considered the frontrunners to replace Mattis.
But neither candidate seems likely to embrace Trump’s “America First” foreign policy: Both came out against the withdrawal from Syria in strong terms. Trump's appointment of either of them could pave the way toward a repeat of the same policy disagreements the president had with Mattis.
Keane, a retired four-star Army general — who’s also a former Army vice chief of staff — has been suggested as a possible replacement for Mattis, even though he recently said he doesn’t “intend to go back into public service.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/analysis-trumps-frontrunners-for-pentagon-job-likely-to-share-mattis-views-on-syria-afghanistan/ar-BBRfRSK?li=BBnbcA1
Trump can't find any yes men?
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