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Pentagon's Mattis again seeks to reassure U.S. allies
Source: Reuters
#WORLD NEWS AUGUST 19, 2017 / 7:02 AM / 4 HOURS AGO
Pentagon's Mattis again seeks to reassure U.S. allies
Idrees Ali
6 MIN READ
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Jim Mattis travels to the Middle East and eastern Europe next week to play the increasingly familiar role of reassuring allies that the United States is committed to them despite mixed messages from President Donald Trump.
Mattis will visit Jordan, Turkey, and Ukraine to address concerns about the fight against Islamic State and give a message that Washington will not tolerate Russia's annexation of eastern Ukraine.
The informal portfolio of soothing traditional U.S. friends upset by Trump's often sharp comments and tweets on foreign policy is one that the retired Marine general is becoming used to.
"There is no-one in the administration, maybe with the exception of Vice President Mike Pence, that has to shoulder the responsibility of Trump's rhetoric more than Mattis," said Joshua Walker, a former U.S. diplomat and current fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, a think tank.
Earlier this month, Trump said that a U.S. military option was being considered for Venezuela as the country is torn by political and economic upheaval. Within a few hours, the Pentagon publicly announced that it had not received any orders on Venezuela, lowering the temperature slightly.
-snip-
Pentagon's Mattis again seeks to reassure U.S. allies
Idrees Ali
6 MIN READ
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Jim Mattis travels to the Middle East and eastern Europe next week to play the increasingly familiar role of reassuring allies that the United States is committed to them despite mixed messages from President Donald Trump.
Mattis will visit Jordan, Turkey, and Ukraine to address concerns about the fight against Islamic State and give a message that Washington will not tolerate Russia's annexation of eastern Ukraine.
The informal portfolio of soothing traditional U.S. friends upset by Trump's often sharp comments and tweets on foreign policy is one that the retired Marine general is becoming used to.
"There is no-one in the administration, maybe with the exception of Vice President Mike Pence, that has to shoulder the responsibility of Trump's rhetoric more than Mattis," said Joshua Walker, a former U.S. diplomat and current fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, a think tank.
Earlier this month, Trump said that a U.S. military option was being considered for Venezuela as the country is torn by political and economic upheaval. Within a few hours, the Pentagon publicly announced that it had not received any orders on Venezuela, lowering the temperature slightly.
-snip-
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-mattis-trump-idUSKCN1AZ0D0
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