Secretary of state Mike Pompeo embarked on a nine-country tour on 8 January, designed to reassure allies about US commitment to the region following the surprise decision by Donald Trump by pull US troops out of Syria and the abrupt resignation of defence secretary General James Mattis in December. Jordan and Egypt were the first stops, followed by Iraq on 9 January and then visits to all six Gulf Co-operation Council states. The visits to Qatar and Kuwait were due to include bilateral strategic dialogues with those countries.