In the days since President Donald Trump green-lit the Turkish attack on Northern Syria, the region has been in chaos. Civilians and activists have been killed, their murders filmed by the invading forces. Hundreds of ISIS prisoners, including high-value terrorist leaders, have escaped. Kurdish leaders, abandoned by the United States, have turned to Russia for assistance – as has Turkey, following a childish letter from President Trump.

An American military convoy stops near the town of Tel Tamr, north Syria, on Sunday. Credit:AP

It is one of the most foolish and most dangerous foreign policy moves of the Trump presidency. And still, Trump has celebrated his decision. He points to it as evidence of his commitment to "bring our troops home" and put America first, to stop the military interventionism of the Bush years and to end foolish wars.

But Trump’s foreign policy is not shaped by an opposition to intervention. After all, as soon as he began pulling forces out of Syria he redeployed 1800 soldiers to Saudi Arabia. Nor is it about putting America first – there is no national interest served by, for instance, withholding aid from Ukraine.

Donald Trump has forged a Trump-first foreign policy centred on warm relationships with strongmen, pursuit of personal profit, and a need to be seen as a savvy deal-maker. In carrying out his Trump-first foreign policy, Trump has sacrificed both international influence and national security – and in the process, ceded much of Eastern Europe and the Middle East to Russia.