Syrian war

Who Cares If Russia Helps Stabilize Syria

But as long as US strategic interests are met, Washington probably shouldn’t care if Russian actions—or those of China or Iran—help, or even are primary, in achieving American objectives. If the aim is to stabilize Syria and, if possible, Iraq, it shouldn’t matter that Putin has swooped in at the last minute to prop up Assad, and bolster his regime against ISIL.
In this case, Putin gets to stick it to the man—the US—which plays so well at home. If everything goes right, he can divert attention from Ukraine, and persuade at least Europe to cancel its Russian sanctions.
But a key credibility factor for Putin will be this: Although he already has deployed considerable hardware on the ground in Syria, is he any more likely than the US to put actual troops into action?