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		</div><p>Former general James Mattis looks set to be confirmed as Donald Trump&#8217;s defence secretary after the Senate voted to grant him an exemption to run the Pentagon as a recently-retired officer.</p>
<p>At his confirmation hearing, he called Russia the nation&#8217;s number one security threat, accusing President Vladimir Putin of trying to &#8220;break&#8221; Nato.</p>
<p>The Senate voted 81-17 to approve legislation overriding a ban on former US service members who have been out of uniform less than seven years from holding the Defence Department&#8217;s top job.</p>
<p>The restriction is meant to preserve civilian control of the military. The House is scheduled to vote on Friday.</p>
<p>Mr Mattis, 66, spent four decades in uniform, retiring in 2013 with a reputation as an effective combat leader and an astute strategist.</p>
<p>Separate from the override legislation, the Senate will vote later on Mr Mattis&#8217;s nomination, which is seen as all but certain to be confirmed.</p>
<p>The only other exception to the rule was made for the legendary George Marshall in 1950, the year Mr Mattis was born.</p>
<p>Even some of Mr Trump&#8217;s strongest critics have supported the waiver for Mr Mattis, arguing that his experience and temperament can serve as a steadying influence on a new president with no experience in national security.</p>
<p>At an uncontentious confirmation hearing, Mr Mattis sketched an international security scene dominated by dark images of an aggressive Russia, resurgent China and violent Middle East.</p>
<p>He described Iran as a major destabilising force, called North Korea a potential nuclear threat and said the US military needs to grow larger and readier for combat.</p>
<p><i>&#8220;We see each day a world awash in change,&#8221;</i> Mr Mattis said.</p>
<p><i>&#8220;Our country is still at war in Afghanistan and our troops are fighting against Isis and other terrorist groups in the Middle East and elsewhere.</p>
<p>&#8220;Russia is raising grave concerns on several fronts, and China is shredding trust along its periphery.&#8221;</i></p>
<p>Mr Mattis portrayed Russia as an adversary and said the history of US-Russian relations is not encouraging.</p>
<p><i>&#8220;I have very modest expectations for areas of cooperation with Mr Putin,&#8221;</i> he said, delivering an assessment strikingly different to that of his potential commander in chief.</p>
<p>Mr Trump has repeatedly praised Mr Putin, even as US intelligence agencies have accused the Russian leader of orchestrating a campaign of interference in the 2016 US election.</p>
<p>Mr Mattis, a former Nato military leader, said Mr Putin &#8220;is trying to break the North Atlantic alliance&#8221;.</p>
<p>He said he has explained to Mr Trump his views on Russia, which include a deep worry that Moscow is determined to use intimidation and nuclear threats to create a sphere of unstable states on its periphery.</p>
<p>Mr Mattis, who has served in numerous senior military positions, including commander of US Central Command in charge of all American forces in the Middle East, said he supports the Obama administration&#8217;s moves to reassure European allies after Moscow&#8217;s annexation of Ukraine&#8217;s Crimea region and military activity in eastern Ukraine.</p>
<p>While the US should remain open to working with Russia, Mr Mattis said the prospects for cooperation were narrowing even as areas of disagreement grow larger.</p>
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