(Wall Street Journal) Yaroslav Trofimov - Russia's return to the Middle East, with its lightning military deployment to Syria, is fundamentally different from the Cold War. Because Moscow is no longer constrained by ideology, it could ultimately prove more successful in challenging American influence in the region. "Russia today is not trying to spread its own model of life - in part because there is no such model," said Andranik Migranyan, a professor at the Moscow State Institute for International Relations. A perception in the Middle East that the U.S. has pulled back and can't be trusted to protect its allies helps lubricate Russian ambitions.
2015-09-25 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive