Saturday, December 06, 2025 | 09:12 PM ISTहिंदी में पढें
Business Standard
Notification Icon
userprofile IconSearch

Jim Mattis holds firm as chaos engulfs Trump's national security team

Long a champion of alliances and diplomacy, Mattis increasingly finds himself surrounded by policy hawks on issues from Iran to North Korea

Threats from Russia, China 'growing'; US must be prepared for war: Mattis
premium

US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis. Photo: Reuters

Nick Wadhams & Anthony Capaccio | Bloomberg
President Donald Trump’s shakeup of his national security team adds to the burden on one man at the center of any decision about war and peace: Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.

Long a champion of alliances and diplomacy, Mattis increasingly finds himself surrounded by policy hawks on issues from Iran to North Korea. Yet his command of the nation’s 1.2 million active duty personnel makes him uniquely placed to steer Trump away from any rash decision to unleash the U.S. military.

Trump stunned his own aides this month by reshaping his foreign policy team in a more hawkish bent ahead of a key