Did Trump consult with anyone before he made his Syria announcement?

President Obama agonised for ages over whether to arm the Syrian rebels. He sought the advice from everyone. But even when his secretary state, Hillary Clinton, his defence secretary, Leon Panetta, and CIA director David Petraeus gave their support, he still couldn't make up his mind whether it was the right thing to do. He did eventually. Donald Trump on the other hand seems to make decisions just like that. A phone call from a foreign leader and he says ok. This appears to be what happened when President Erdogan of Turkey rang him up to say he wanted to invade northern Syria. We don't know the exact wording of the conversation because no whistleblower has yet put out a transcript or made a complaint about the contents of the chat. The result, however, was that Trump announced the pull-back of US troops from northern Syria and what was interpreted by the Washington media as a green light for Turkey to launch its long-threatened incursion into northern Syria to create a buffer zone clear of Kurdish militia. The question is, did Trump have long sessions with the likes of Mike Pompeo, Mark Esper, defence secretary, General Mark Milley, the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and his whole National Security Council team? It doesn't look like it although the Pentagon put out a statement a few days ago in which it dismissed reports that Esper and Milley had been sidetracked. Both the defence secretary and the chairman had been consulted, the Pentagon's chief spokesman said. But consulted in what way? Did the president ask their advice about the appropriateness of letting Turkey invade northern Syria? Did he ask what this might mean for the American military strategy in Syria or did he just say, ok, guys,this is what I'm going to do, you better tell your lot to get the hell out of there. And what did Pompeo say about it, and the new national security adviser, Robert O'Brien who knows a thing or two about hostage-taking but not, I guess, a huge amount about military strategy? Did they all say no no no Mr President. And why didn't Trump seek the advice of his Republican friends, such as Senator Lindsey Graham who was clearly given no advance notice because he was furious when he read Trump's tweets. Well, there's the reason Trump didn't ring Graham before he spoke to Erdogan. He knew Graham would shout at him and tell him not to give Erdogan carte blanche to send his troops over the border. So he left him off the consultation list. I would love to know what Esper and Chairman Milley advised. Milley generally says what he thinks and would not have been slow in giving his views. The statement from the Pentagon was very carefully worded, giving the impression that the Defence Department and the White House were on exactly the same page. When the leaks start we will see who is telling the truth.