U.S. Policy After Russia's Escalation in Syria

It is now nearly 5 years into the Syrian conflict. That conflict has claimed more than 1/4 million lives. There are 4 million people that have been driven from their homes in Syria. Through it all, the administration's response has been tepid. It has been a series of steps that were micromanaged by the White House that were very ineffectual. ISIS has gained ground as a result of our failure to act. Today the President still hasn't put forward the broad, overarching strategy needed to defeat this brutal movement, this movement of terrorists and, frankly, to secure vital U.S. national security interests here. Instead, it is now Russia that is taking the decisive role in shaping Syria's future and not in a helpful way. Putin saw Assad losing ground. Russian jets have teamed up with the Iranian ground forces to solidify the Syrian dictator, and the focus of the Russian and Iranians' joint offensive is not ISIS. It is not their strongholds, but it is the opposition forces backed by the United States and Saudi Arabia.