'Hold fast': Mattis bids farewell to Pentagon

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis bids farewell to the Pentagon on Monday, telling the US military to “hold fast” after he quit over a series of fundamental differences with President Donald Trump.

Mattis resigned December 20, after Trump stunned the US establishment by ordering a full troop withdrawal from Syria.

“Our Department is proven to be at its best when the times are most difficult,” Mattis says in a brief memo to the Pentagon, an apparent reference to the turmoil in Washington. “So keep the faith in our country and hold fast, alongside our allies, aligned against our foes.”

Mattis had initially been due to leave the Pentagon at the end of February, but Trump brought the date forward by two months.

— AFP