Quote:You don't think the Arabs will blow up Russian occupying forces the same way they've done ours?


Trying to control the Middle East has destroyed nation after nation after empire after empire.


Besides Russia bombing ISIS or Syrian rebels to support an already established regime isn't the same as invading another nation (like they did in ukrain that's a different problem).


Russia is there at the request of the Syrian government why the hell are we there?


Let Russia hold the hot potatoe

 

I agree with a lot of what you say about this.  Putin sees himself as some sort of grand strategist.   So when he sees a power vacuum he goes for it.   In this case, that is a huge mistake.   They are getting involved in a colossal quagmire.   It won't be long before jihadists are blowing themselves up on the streets of Moscow, and the Russians will be faced with the same bad choices that have confronted other outside actors in that region.  Go all in, at a huge risk, or withdraw, and admit that you wasted your resources.   The smartest thing he can do is to say, this was a limited operation, it was a success, and now we are finished. 

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