October 7, 2015 | Quoted by Lee Smith - The Weekly Standard

Putin Is the New Sheriff in Town

Today, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed that Russia has violated Turkish airspace for a second time. On Saturday, a Russian plane crossed into Turkish airspace near the Syrian border, and in response the Turks scrambled two F-16s. In a subsequent incident, Ankara said that a MiG-29—flown either by Russia or its client Syria—locked its radar on to two more Turkish F-16s Sunday as they patrolled the border. 

The weekend’s stand-off is the latest episode in the international air war over Syria, starring a large cast that includes Turkey, Russia, Israel, Iran, Hezbollah, the Lebanese Armed Forces, the Syrian opposition, and the United States, with an arsenal including drones, fighter jets, barrel bombs, chemical weapons, helicopters, missiles, and perhaps someday—given that there are already 2 nuclear powers and one-soon-to-be nuclear state with a vital interest in the outcome—nuclear weapons.

… 

Putin’s position clashes with Israel’s, as Tony Badran, research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies explains. “Israel cannot afford to have Putin set limits on its freedom of operation against Iran in Syria,” says Badran. “If it concedes that, it opens itself up to a dangerous and costly scenario with regard to Iran and Hezbollah, who would effectively enjoy a Russian protective umbrella. On the other hand, if Israel strikes targets in Damascus, or on the Lebanon-Syria border, Putin could well understand that as a direct challenge.”

… 

Read the full article here

Issues:

Iran Syria