Russians withdraw from Syria
Why Putin's decision to pull Russian forces from Syria makes sense. This BBC article makes a great case as to why the pullback of Russian air and land forces from Syria is consistent with Putin's goal focused decisionmaking in committing resources outside of Mother Russia.
I'm no expert, but I think there's an additional layer of theater--something I think Putin uses as a weapon, particularly on the home front. The Russian view for the past three centuries has been that Russia is a world power and has just not been acknowledged as such--despite their deep deep sacrifices in WWII against the Germans for example. They are the Rodney Dangerfield of nations--no respect. The grim toll of Russian involvement in Afghanistan has been a somber dirge in the background anytime the Russian leadership wants to extend its reach in the international realm. The accession of Crimea did not go smoothly nor is it settled. And the continuing search for the upper hand with the Ukraine is also not a clean vindication of Russian principles. Using airpower and missiles from many platforms to project Russian force into the Middle East in support of a Russian ally for six months is a way to say "see, we are a power on the world stage" and the cost has been minimal to the home audience. The Russians lost a fighter in an exchange with Turkey--accident. And the evil terrorists blew up a Russian airliner out of Egypt--more reason to continue to fight the evil terrorists. By pulling out after having imposed a shift in power in Syria, Putin can say to his home constituents "See, we must sacrifice so Russia can be great again. Look what we have wrought in forcing a change in this Syrian tragedy. The parties are negotiating."
We should not underestimate this fox. He is clever.
I'm no expert, but I think there's an additional layer of theater--something I think Putin uses as a weapon, particularly on the home front. The Russian view for the past three centuries has been that Russia is a world power and has just not been acknowledged as such--despite their deep deep sacrifices in WWII against the Germans for example. They are the Rodney Dangerfield of nations--no respect. The grim toll of Russian involvement in Afghanistan has been a somber dirge in the background anytime the Russian leadership wants to extend its reach in the international realm. The accession of Crimea did not go smoothly nor is it settled. And the continuing search for the upper hand with the Ukraine is also not a clean vindication of Russian principles. Using airpower and missiles from many platforms to project Russian force into the Middle East in support of a Russian ally for six months is a way to say "see, we are a power on the world stage" and the cost has been minimal to the home audience. The Russians lost a fighter in an exchange with Turkey--accident. And the evil terrorists blew up a Russian airliner out of Egypt--more reason to continue to fight the evil terrorists. By pulling out after having imposed a shift in power in Syria, Putin can say to his home constituents "See, we must sacrifice so Russia can be great again. Look what we have wrought in forcing a change in this Syrian tragedy. The parties are negotiating."
We should not underestimate this fox. He is clever.
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