In the end, the secret plan was . . . to do the same stuff that Obama was doing! It worked, too. Ross Douthat thinks Trump deserves credit for not screwing it up, but I find it hard to agree.
So what happens next? Since Trump is giving unqualified support to the Saudi agenda and chose not to help the Kurds, the plan for Iraq is relatively clear: use Saudi money, American weapons and influence, and Iraqi resentment of Iranian overreach to keep Iraq out of Iran’s orbit. Whether or not that will be successful remains to be seen, but it at least represents a coherent strategy. Syria is a different story. The logical approach at this point would be to make a deal in which we trade territory and conditional support for Assad for the departure of the Iranians and Hezbollah. Will that happen? Probably not, as Putin and Assad have shown no inclination to run the Iranians out of town.