He decided Assad was being attacked by terrorists, as even Russia had been beset by Chechen rebels. Putin decided that he, and perhaps only he, saw the justice in Assad’s claim that he was just doing his best to save Syria from anarchy. Recently Iran (a Syrian ally) allowed Russian bombers to take off from an Iranian airport on a sortie into Syria. Or was he trying for something larger, such as regaining the great-power status that was lost during the Gorbachev-Yeltsin eras? More recently, Putin has been taking on the greatest problem in the Middle East, apparently believing that his status can solve it.

Source: National Post August 26, 2016 18:45 UTC