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"For only the second time since 9/11, America's defense secretary didn't visit U.S. troops in a war zone during December, breaking a long-standing tradition of personally and publicly thanking service members in combat who are separated from their families during the holiday season," per the AP.

When asked why he wasn't going to Iraq or Afghanistan, Mattis told the AP said he didn't want to discuss his travel.

Jim Mattis didn't visit U.S. troops for the holidays

It's the second time a defense secretary skipped the visit since 2002

Defense Secretary James Mattis at a news conference in August 2017 at the State Department in Washington.  Photo: Jacquelyn Martin / AP

James Mattis

World

&quot;For only the second time since 9/11, America&#x27;s defense secretary didn&#x27;t visit U.S. troops in a war zone during December, breaking a long-standing tradition of personally and publicly thanking service members in combat who are separated from their families during the holiday season,&quot; <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="per the AP." data-vars-click-url="https://apnews.com/9db0017be07a4394aa468e9e81251430/Mattis-nixes-holiday-tradition-of-seeing-troops-in-war-zones" data-vars-content-id="0185121d-b086-439f-85ce-bb19fad6bb22" data-vars-headline="Jim Mattis didn&#x27;t visit U.S. troops for the holidays" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://apnews.com/9db0017be07a4394aa468e9e81251430/Mattis-nixes-holiday-tradition-of-seeing-troops-in-war-zones" target="_blank">per the AP.</a>When asked why he wasn&#x27;t going to Iraq or Afghanistan, Mattis told the AP said he didn&#x27;t want to discuss his travel.

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Jim Mattis didn't visit U.S. troops for the holidays

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