[ti:US Allies Worry about Mattis’ Resignation] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.00]Traditional allies of the United States are expressing concern [00:07.05]about the resignation of U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. [00:13.68]President Donald Trump announced Thursday [00:18.36]that Mattis will leave the job in February. [00:23.06]The announcement came a day after Trump said [00:27.37]that U.S. troops would leave Syria. [00:31.11]The Defense Department opposed the troop withdrawal. [00:38.00]For several years, U.S.-supported forces in the Middle East [00:44.14]have made progress against the Islamic State (IS). [00:48.45]Defeating IS forces was just one part of a plan Mattis had for Syria. [00:56.76]He wanted to reduce U.S. troop numbers there [01:01.33]after successful completion of the three-part plan. [01:07.29]The president and Mattis disagreed on the issue. [01:12.41]They also have different ideas [01:15.33]about support for America's traditional alliances. [01:20.74]In his resignation letter, Mattis wrote that the United States [01:26.25]cannot protect its interests without "showing respect to (our) allies." [01:34.61]The French Defense Minister Florence Parly spoke about the resignation. [01:43.31]She said that French forces were in the Middle East [01:46.91]as part of a coalition "led by the Americans." [01:51.62]Trump's decision "changes that situation," she added. [01:56.08]Britain's Minister of State for the Middle East, Alistair Burt, [02:02.95]wrote that "If allies cannot be relied upon, [02:06.61]others are sought to take their place." [02:10.55]The social networking website Twitter published his comments. [02:16.38]Former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt tweeted the U.S. move [02:24.01]was a "morning of alarm in Europe." [02:28.19]Defense Secretary Mattis is one of the most highly respected [02:33.54]members of Trump's foreign policy team. [02:37.36]He helped lead the invasion of Iraq in 2003 [02:42.48]and later led the U.S. Central Command until he retired in 2013. [02:49.32]In his resignation letter to Trump, Mattis wrote that the president [02:56.58]should have a Secretary of Defense who agreed with him on foreign policy. [03:03.24]He added, "I believe it is right for me to step down from my position." [03:10.51]In addition to Syria, the two men disagreed about other issues, [03:16.57]such the president's decision to pull the United States [03:21.45]out of the nuclear deal with Iran. [03:25.40]They also have differences of opinion about Russian President Vladimir Putin. [03:31.74]Trump has praised Putin's leadership skills. [03:36.65]Mattis believed the Russian president was interfering with Western democracies. [03:44.07]Russia has praised the U.S. decision to withdraw from Syria. [03:51.00]In a separate move, Trump ordered the Defense Department to plan [03:56.51]to withdraw about 50 percent of the 14,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan. [04:04.95]That withdrawal will reportedly begin in January 2019. [04:12.96]Reacting to Mattis' resignation, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell [04:21.19]said he was "distressed" that it resulted from [04:24.98]"differences (about) America's global leadership." [04:28.95]House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said she was "shaken" [04:35.77]by the resignation and described it as "very serious for our country." [04:42.77]"This is scary," tweeted Senator Mark Warner of Virginia. [04:48.33]He is the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee. [04:53.40]Trump's decision to leave Syria breaks [04:58.21]with one of America's longtime allies, the Kurds. [05:02.65]Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened in recent days [05:09.02]to launch a military operation against U.S.-aided Kurdish militiamen [05:16.10]now fighting in northeastern Syria. [05:19.58]I'm Susan Shand. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM