reducing troops in afghanistan is not a silly idea, something to be working toward. way it was handled is completely crazy and russia is a beneficiary. in syria, abandon the kurds, latest betrayal in 100 years of such betrayals. and it speaks to larger sense of chaos and undermining of our commitments. this was last straw for mattis but i think that for mattis the larger issue was the way the president was systematically undermining the systems that had helped keep us safe for 75 years. and recognition that what keeps us safe isn t just guns but also our alliances. and that s what this betrayed. bob woodward wrote in his book we re doing this about how mattis served as check on