Trump claims Mattis asked for a military operation to be delayed due to an 'ammo shortage'
Jeff Schogol
September 16, 2019 at 05:50 PM
President Donald Trump just can't stop telling stories about former Defense Secretary James Mattis. This time, the president claims Mattis said U.S. troops were so perilously low on ammunition that it would be better to hold off launching a military operation.
"You know, when I came here, three years ago almost, Gen. Mattis told me, 'Sir, we're very low on ammunition,'" Trump recalled on Monday at the White House. "I said, 'That's a horrible thing to say.' I'm not blaming him. I'm not blaming anybody. But that's what he told me because we were in a position with a certain country, I won't say which one; we may have had conflict. And he said to me: 'Sir, if you could, delay it because we're very low on ammunition.'
"And I said: You know what, general, I never want to hear that again from another general," Trump continued. "No president should ever, ever hear that statement: 'We're low on ammunition.'"
Mattis declined to respond to the president's comments on Monday. Since he resigned in protest last year over Trump's initial decision to withdraw all U.S. troops from Syria, Mattis has steadfastly avoided criticizing the president, citing the French concept of devoir de reserve – the duty of silence.
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https://taskandpurpose.com/trump-mattis-ammunition-shortage