I'm sure I'm not the only one who finds it bizarre that the Republican leadership is (rightly) going nuts over President Donald Trump's betrayal of the Kurds in Syria while it's ignoring his betrayal of the US Constitution at home. If only Lindsey Graham & Co were as eager to defend our democracy as they are the Kurds. But I digress.

If you think Mr Trump's withdrawal of US troops from Syria will make the Middle East more explosive, you're correct. But there's far more going on. Those troops were also interrupting Iran's efforts to build a land bridge from Teheran to Beirut to tighten a noose around Israel - and their removal could help bring the Iran-Israel shadow war out into the open. This is the really big story in the Middle East today.