While many Americans -- and not just his supporters -- lauded Trump's decision, fed up after years of costly and spiraling conflicts, politicians of every stripe were tripping over each other to get in their condemnation. "We are referring all questions to the White House," one spokeswoman said, when asked about the momentous Afghanistan withdrawal. Bill Roggio, an Afghanistan expert and senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told AFP the Trump administration's Middle East policy is in disarray. By ceding Syria, Trump is also yanking a keystone of his own administration's foreign policy: to push back against Iran, which supports President Bashar al-Assad and is seeking to expand regional influence. Trump's withdrawal orders, meanwhile, rattled Europe.

Source: Bangkok Post December 21, 2018 18:46 UTC