Does anyone know for certain just what US policy is in Syria? And by “anyone,” we include the folks in the White House and the State Department.

On Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan abruptly canceled a scheduled sitdown with National Security Advisor John Bolton, then went on live TV to berate him. His gripe: Bolton had suggested the US won’t totally withdraw its forces from Syria until the safety of its Kurdish allies is assured, mostly from Turkish attack.

It’s just the latest whirl in the policy merry-go-round that’s spun ever since President Trump dropped his surprise announcement of a Syria withdrawal “as quickly as possible.”

That prompted bipartisan criticism from Congress and a host of resignations from officials opposed to a cut-and-run and disagreeing with Trump’s claim that “we have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there.”

Soon, Trump himself acknowledged that ISIS isn’t yet completely crushed. And suddenly the withdrawal timetable, once said to be as soon as 100 days, began to change.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stressed that the US campaign against Iran “hasn’t changed a lick” (despite Trump’s comment that Tehran “can do what they want” in Syria).

And Bolton headed to Israel to reassure our ally that there is no timeline for withdrawal and set new conditions for any pullout of US troops, including ISIS’ total defeat.

Trump then claimed he’d “never said” any withdrawal would be quick, though he’d declared the US mission in Syria “over.” He also insisted that current policy is “no different from my original statements.”

The Middle East is far too dangerous for scattershot, unfocused policy that’s subject to complete change at any given moment.