Middle East

Putin’s Arab Gambit Just Got More Bold: The Syria/Levant Jihadi Crisis

With Russian troops, heavy military equipment, and national technical means descending on the Middle East, Russian President Vladimir Putin has just upped his gambit towards maintaining and strengthening Russia’s presence in the Arab world as it melts down in the face of ISIS, Al Qaida, and the Barack Obama Administration’s ineffective policies. By inserting troops into Latakia, Syria, Putin is interested in much more than protecting Russia’s small naval base at Tartus, Syria. Already in possession of the powerful Shiite Iranian ally in the region, the ineffective U.S. policy in the region has opened up a road from Moscow to the Sunni Arab powers.