As for Mattis, the commandant of the Marine Corps who infamously declared in 2005 that it was “a lot of fun” to shoot Afghans, he stepped down as head of US Central Command earlier this year, reportedly over differences with the White House over US war policy against Syria and Iran. Known for advocating an aggressive US strategy against Iran, he pressed for aggressive moves to cut off Iranian aid to the Syrian regime, declaring: “Absent Iran’s help, I don’t believe [Syrian President Bashar] Assad would have been in power the last six months.”