The head of the Pentagon at parting warned trump about the Russian threat
Pentagon chief James Mattis in his resignation letter warned the American leader Donald trump about growing Russian and Chinese threats. Full text of the letter published by the newspaper The Guardian.
“I believe that we need to act with determination in relations with countries whose strategic interests are increasingly inconsistent with our. It is obvious that China and Russia want to rebuild the world in its authoritarian patterns, reinforcing (…) the impact on other countries in order to benefit at the expense of their neighbors, the United States and our allies,” he wrote.
Just read Gen. Mattis resignation letter. It makes it abundantly clear that we are headed towards a series of grave policy errors which will endanger our nation,damage our alliances & empower our adversaries. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/ztc0Yihccn
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) 20 December 2018.
Mattis also stressed the need to respect the allies and “to keep a clear view on malevolent parties [international relations] and strategic competitors, who for four decades actively involved in this process.”
The Pentagon chief noted that the United States should make every effort to promote world order, which is an integral part of security, prosperity and preserve the values of the American people.
Previously, on 21 December it became known that Mattis decided to retire. The post he leaves on 28 February 2019. In a letter to Trump, he assured that he will carefully prepare the handover to his successor, who is still unknown.
Relations between the US and its allies in Europe have become increasingly tense since the rise to power of the trump in 2017. In early July, 2018, the President of the United States intimidated the UK, stating that if London will not increase military spending, the main partner of Washington in NATO may be France.
Prior to that, during a meeting of leaders of the countries “the Big seven” in Canada trump several times described the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker “cruel killer”, and the President of the France Emmanuel Macron said that “all the terrorists in Paris”.