MILITARY/NATIONAL SECURITY/SYRIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump grew irritated with his top military brass and national security team on Tuesday [4-3-18] when they advised him an immediate withdrawal of US troops from Syria would be unwise and could not provide a timeline for when American forces could exit, people familiar with the matter said. In a sometimes-tense meeting of his national security team, Trump complained at length about the amount of American money being spent in the region, which he said had produced nothing for the US in return, according to senior administration officials. And he continued to question why other countries in the region — particularly the wealthy Gulf nations — haven’t stepped in.”
-Elise Labott and Kevin Liptak, “Trump gets testy as national security team warns of risks of Syria withdrawal,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, April 5, 2018 8:23 am