(1) Secretary Mattis' resignation letter of December 20, 2018.

Source: an ABC reporter at the Pentagon. Hopefully this is the real letter.

Assuming it is, here are my thoughts on it:

(2) I love, love, love General James Mattis and always have, from the moment I first learned who he is. That will never change.

I have two possible explanations for why he chose to mention "respect for allies" & being harder on adversaries in this letter.

(3) Two MAIN possible explanations. Sure, there will be others.

It could be 4D chess kabuki theater, he's certainly capable of it.

Or, it could be his genuine feelings and desire to distance himself from some of Trump's actions. Sad.

(4) IMO, the President IS being tough on the biggest adversaries of freedom, Russia and China. No question in my mind. I think he could be tougher on them, but I have nowhere near the level of accurate current info that Mattis has, obviously.

To hear this from Mattis is sad.

(5) Look at my Twitter bio. I proudly state I am a hawk. I support a strong national defense, for any country, and strong intervention in response to violence and threats from other countries, and terrorists.

I guess there are several kinds of hawk.

(6) IMO this President has always walked well the very fine line between non-intervention and intervention. The geopolitical world is extraordinarily complex for a POTUS at this time. He does respect the views and advice of advisors, esp. the military.

(7) Similarly, I firmly believe that this President DOES treat all allies with the respect that they have earned, and that is in the interests of the USA. There is nothing to be gained from playing nice with world leaders who are themselves disgraceful toward their country.

(8) If a friendship is conditional on "treating them with respect," according to the subjective preferences of unelected officials, then they are no friend I'd want to have.

Perhaps the Secretary doesn't excel in every area, such as politics. He excels in winning wars, though.

(9) Perhaps there is an important difference between being an outstanding General and being an outstanding Secretary. It's logical that there would be.

I won't give up on him based on one letter. I've simply adjusted my view, subject to what I said in tweet (3).

(10) What I find sad is that Mattis, more than anyone, knew how crucial it was to the survival of the Republic, that a President be elected who was willing to properly fund & lead the military, long term. Having gotten that done, he now quibbles over style, not substance.

(11) It wasn't necessary, for the country or the administration, that he say this at this time. The only person whose interests it serves is Mattis. It enables him to "save face" with the Lindsey Grahams and Marco Rubios of the world. Congrats.

(12) On another note, perhaps he did this bc he's well aware of what Trump has got planned for the prosecutions phase of #Obamagate #Draintheswamp #Lockthemup, and his heart just wasn't in it.

That's fine. America does have people willing to step up. Thank God.

(13) Like others who leave the admin, Mattis had a choice. He could go quietly, & stay popular with the MAGA movement. Or he could drop these words into his letter, ensuring a Hoover Center fellowship, speaking tours, & all the rest. There's another speculation, though:

(14) Having reassured the neolibs and neocons that he's not really much of a Trump man after all, wouldn't Mattis be the ideal Trump appointee for an international role reforming the UN, NATO, or something like that?

As always, "we'll see what happens."

(15) OK those of you claiming Nikki Haley is not a natural born citizen & therefore ineligible to be POTUS need to get a clue. Or at least avoid tweeting me about it.

Her parents came to the US for her father's academic job, so their immigration status was fine. No issue there.

(16) Haley's name has come up in the ludicrous articles I'm seeing after Mattis' resignation letter.

I don't think Mattis would try to run against Trump, bc he knows darn well he wouldn't stand a chance. And, he's not an enabler of Democrat electoral wins. Come on now.

(17) No one can win a 2020 GOP primary against Trump.

Unless something bizarrely new and major happens, no one can win against Trump in the general in 2020. They just can't. Waste your own time with this BS if you like, but you won't be able to waste mine with it.

(18) 7 hours ago I wrote all the above tweets without having heard that a troop withdrawal is "reportedly" planned for in Afghanistan, too.

If that gets confirmed, I'll need to revise my position on all this. I do NOT want to see US strength in that theater reduced atm. But...

(19) Obviously, my opinion on the matter is immaterial, that's fine. In August 2017 this President made clear commitments on his #SouthAsiaStrategy, about only leaving AFG when a well-reasoned case can be made for that.

I will read any WH statement on it with great interest.

(20) I have seen no new information showing that it's the right time to halve the US forces in Afghanistan, which is a completely different set of circumstances to Syria.

We (allies) must remain tough on the Taliban, Pakistan, Iran, & Russia. The war on terror ain't over.