New: In weeks before the Syria decision, national security adviser John Bolton instructed senior officials to meet directly with coalition partners and assure them the US is “staying in Syria until Iran is out of Syria,” two sources tell CNN. 1/
2/Syria withdrawal was “a complete reversal,” done “without deliberation" and "no consideration of risks.” Allies and partners are “shocked and totally bewildered”, Syrian Democratic Forces “don’t believe this is happening,” a senior administration official familiar tells me.
3/Decision comes at critical time in fight against ISIS, with US military & partners “in a Tora Bora situation” in N. Syria with ISIS cornered. US has reason to believe ISIS leader al-Baghdadi & senior cmdrs could be trapped in “a little pocket," based in part on vigorous defense
4/Contradicting President Trump, the Senior Admin Official warns “Russia loves this,” referring to the US withdrawal, and continues to send a message to partners that “if Americans are your friends, they’ll abandon you”
5/More broadly, this official says the national security decision-making process in the administration has "basically stopped working...with decisions made on a whim on phone calls"
