This was not a slow news week. As we write this, the nation is still processing another senseless mass shooting, a hotly debated trade deal was reached, and Kevin McCarthy shocked the political world by dropping out of the House speaker race. And that’s just for starters. It was a challenge to choose which story to focus on today, but we decided to spotlight what Russia is up to in Syria, as it’s a top story with a great deal of coverage right now.
 
See the guest blog this week written by Beth Ballentine, Two Reasons We Have Limited Options for President and the latest AllSides News.
 
Snippets from the Right
OPINION: Acting out of weakness? Why Obama's dangerously wrong about Putin's intentions in Syria
Fox News
"First, there is no reason to believe that, just because entering a hot war in Syria is a bad idea, Putin won't pursue it with single-minded determination. After all, that is exactly what the Russian strongman did in Ukraine. Back then, Mr. Obama said it was a mistake and Putin would pay a price. And Putin did. The West tsunamied Russia with sanctions.
The problem is: Putin hasn't stopped. He is still meddling in Ukraine. He’s also messing with Georgia. In fact, most Central European countries are on Russia watch.
Second, powers inclined to “act out of weakness” can take some very dangerous and destructive steps when undeterred.
…
Sometimes it might make sense to give some actors space to "learn their lesson." But it’s simply irresponsible to let dangerous powers run amok in dangerous places, responding only with assurances that everything will work out in the end."

 

Snippets from the Left-Center
New York Times
News of the crashes, which were reported by CNN, came as Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter sharply criticized what he called Russia’s “unprofessional” conduct in its incursion into Syria. Speaking at a NATO news conference in Brussels, Mr. Carter said that Moscow had fired the barrage of cruise missiles with no advance notice.
American officials also said that some sort of mishap was to be expected, since the missiles had never been fired in wartime.
“This was the first operational test of these in operational conditions,” one official said of the Russian Kalibr missiles that were used.
Mr. Carter warned, “In coming days, the Russians will begin to suffer casualties.”
 

Snippets from the Center

CNN
Just yesterday, it seemed, Putin was a pariah, kicked out of the G-8 for annexing Crimea, his economy reeling from economic sanctions.
Now, he has launched Russia's biggest and most assertive military operation since the former Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979. The speed of the deployment has NATO worried.
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Why Now? Syria has been Russia's ally since the 1970s and Moscow has supplied all the country's weapons. But al-Assad's forces have been steadily losing the battle against opposition forces, as well as terrorist groups like ISIS and al-Nusra. With the prospect of al-Assad going down, Putin made his move.
By deploying his military to reinforce Syrian troops, Putin hopes to keep al-Assad in power, or at least until there's a plan to replace him. In any case, the Russian President wants to be at the table, a voice to be reckoned with.
 
News, Vladimir Putin, Syria