US TROOPS, in common with all other armed forces operating inside Syria in defiance of the Damascus government, are there in breach of international law.

So when Pentagon officials tell the CNN news broadcaster that the Trump administration is planning a “full” and “rapid” withdrawal of its troops, this should be good news, but some questions need answering.

Involvement by the US, its Nato allies and by the Saudi-led Gulf Co-operation Council was essentially based on their shared desire to overthrow the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad as means of weakening and isolating its ally Iran.