Are Russian Attack Helicopters And A Few Thousand Soldiers From Hezbollah And Iran The Reason Why Syria's Assad Is Winning The War?

Technicians at Syria's Hmeimim airport where Russian aircraft are deployed. © Dmitriy Vinogradov / RIA Novosti

James Miller, Foreign Policy: Putin’s Attack Helicopters and Mercenaries Are Winning the War for Assad

Taking advantage of a ceasefire, the Russian strongman is doubling down in Syria — not withdrawing.

The George W. Bush parallel was lost on very few analysts when Vladimir Putin proudly announced that he was withdrawing a significant amount of Russia’s forces from Syria because their “mission is accomplished.” The announcement came just four days after the Atlantic published an overview of “The Obama Doctrine,” wherein U.S. President Barack Obama told journalist Jeffrey Goldberg that Russia was “bleeding,” “overextended,” and that Putin had made a terrible mistake. In both Syria and Ukraine, Obama argued, the Russian ruler had pursued policies that made his country weaker.

“The notion that somehow Russia is in a stronger position now, in Syria or in Ukraine, than they were before they invaded Ukraine or before he had to deploy military forces to Syria is to fundamentally misunderstand the nature of power in foreign affairs or in the world generally. Real power means you can get what you want without having to exert violence,” the U.S. president said.

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WNU Editor: If it was a question of soldiers, allies, and military equipment .... the U.S. would have conquered the Middle East ten times over in the past few years. Russian success in Syria (at least so far) has been dependent on multiple factors coming into play .... attack helicopters and a few thousand troops from Hezbollah and Iran are just one of the many reasons.