Now it's time for a look at stories dominating headlines across the world and for that we turn to our Ro Aram… <br />Aram… what do you have for us today? <br /><br />Good morning Mark… well today we start with the aftermath of President Trump's decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria after he declared victory over the Islamic State terrorist group. <br />He took to twitter on Thursday to defend the move after he faced strong backlash from fellow Republicans and some U.S. allies, who questioned his claim that ISIS was defeated.<br />They fear the withdrawal may see the terrorist group reemerge.<br />They are also concerned the move will cede U.S. influence in the region to rivals Russia and Iran.<br />Trump posted that getting out of Syria was no surprise as he has publicly campaigned on it during his presidency. <br />He added that he had waited long enough and that it was time to "come home & rebuild."<br />Trump then posted another tweet, announcing that U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis would be stepping down at the end of next February.<br />In his resignation letter, Mattis indicated he was resigning over differences with the president’s policies.<br />The retired Marine general also stressed the importance of U.S. cooperation with allies, many of which have become frayed under Trump.<br />The president's decision to pull troops out of Syria reportedly went against the wishes of his own defense officials. <br />
