{"id":45872,"date":"2018-12-21T15:28:15","date_gmt":"2018-12-21T15:28:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/12\/21\/with-mattis-leaving-the-pentagon-is-dunford-next\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T08:29:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T08:29:08","slug":"with-mattis-leaving-the-pentagon-is-dunford-next","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2018\/12\/21\/with-mattis-leaving-the-pentagon-is-dunford-next\/","title":{"rendered":"With Mattis leaving the Pentagon, is Dunford next to go?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

With Thursday\u2019s announcement that Defense Secretary Jim Mattis had resigned<\/a> over disagreement with the Trump administration\u2019s decision to withdraw all U.S. forces from Syria, among other splits, all eyes turned to the military\u2019s top-ranking officer <\/a>to see if he would be following suit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford was traveling overseas on his annual visit to troops over the holidays when the news broke of Mattis’ resignation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his resignation letter<\/a> to President Donald Trump, Mattis wrote, \u201cbecause 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,” after citing the personal importance, after 40 years of military service, of strategic alliances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dunford has also repeatedly stressed the importance of alliances <\/a>to best protect U.S. interests as competitors Russia and China rise, and he has emphasized his broad support for the coalition of Kurdish forces who have been crucial in the U.S. campaign against the Islamic State in Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\t