U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis quits

The mad dog's sick of being chained out in the yard. He'll be leaving officially early next year, but the announcement comes a day after Trump personally decided, on an apparent whim, to withdraw U.S. forces from Syria.

Mr Trump tweeted that General Mattis 'was a great help to me in getting allies and other countries to pay their share of military obligations'. He did not name a successor, but said one would be appointed shortly.