1. Trump's most recent "secure the oil" flip-flop in Syria is in line with his long-standing view that nothing matters except oil. This is the lens through which he views and has always viewed all conflicts. 
2. He was against fighting ISIS because we weren't getting oil, and he raved for years about taking Iraq's and Libya's oil after the wars. He also only cared about Iran taking over Iraq because they'd control their oil. A sample:
3. According to Andrew McGabe [and as we know from other reports], Trump was obsessed with invading Venezuela to take their oil.
4. In 2012, Trump began including Syria in his rants about "getting more of the oil."
5. Trump has argued in the past that once we're in a stupid war in a foreign country, we should stay to keep their oil. For example, Iraq. Trump views our involvement in Syria the same as he did our involvement in Iraq.
6. Of course, it isn't just oil. He's obsessed with every natural resource. For instance, Chinese mining in Afghanistan.
All of which is to say that as stupid, crazy, and unexpected as this is, we should've seen it coming. I still think in the end there will be a full withdrawal.
Trump has no brain. He just absorbs the positions of the last thing he watched on FOX or the last terrorist/autocrat with whom he speaks. When he meets Erdogan or speaks to Putin again, he'll probably re-reverse this reinforcement.
In this case, it seems to have been Lindsey Graham and Fox News analyst/retired General Jack Keane that Trump absorbed. nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1…
