Bewildering twists and turns around Trump’s Syria withdrawal decision

Only a week ago, a senior US official insisted that the Trump administration was not about to pull out troops from Syria.

But that that was upended by US President Donald Trump on Sunday as American forces prepared to leave the country.

US authorities, diplomats and a Kurdish official have described to The National a chaotic and unco-ordinated process that evolved over the weekend.

The Kurdish official and a European diplomat insist that they were not consulted before US Defence Secretary Mark Esper’s announcement on Sunday.

“We heard it on TV,” the diplomat said.

Mr Esper announced the withdrawal on CBS's Face The Nation.

Read the full story and more in The National.