Trump defends pulling U.S. troops out of Syria after backlash from home and abroad

Now it's time for a look at stories dominating headlines across the world and for that we turn to our Ro Aram…
Aram… what do you have for us today?

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.
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.
They fear the withdrawal may see the terrorist group reemerge.
They are also concerned the move will cede U.S. influence in the region to rivals Russia and Iran.
Trump posted that getting out of Syria was no surprise as he has publicly campaigned on it during his presidency.
He added that he had waited long enough and that it was time to "come home & rebuild."
Trump then posted another tweet, announcing that U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis would be stepping down at the end of next February.
In his resignation letter, Mattis indicated he was resigning over differences with the president’s policies.
The retired Marine general also stressed the importance of U.S. cooperation with allies, many of which have become frayed under Trump.
The president's decision to pull troops out of Syria reportedly went against the wishes of his own defense officials.