“I can already see the headlines...”U.S. plane shot down, Russian aircraft suspect”.”
Likely a US plane will be soon be shot down by the Russians. Putin will cause this to happen in order to show the world the US is a paper tiger. Obama will not retaliate against Russia because he knows an all out war with Russia will mean his certain death. Obama will back off demonstrating his own weakness and the weakness of the USA. Actually, he will ignore the personal humiliation because the humiliation of the nation will be gratifying to him.
Putin, having shown Obama and the US are powerless, will move aggressively on other fronts:
1) Securing alliances with the Arab states and Israel, replacing the US.
2) Completing the destruction of the petrodollar in alliance with China, the BRICS, and possibly the EU. Putting an end to petroleum being traded in dollars globally will destroy the dollar’s status as the global reserve currency and result in an economic collapse in the US.
3) Step up cyberwarfare in concert with the Chinese. Full scale cyber attacks to bring down the power grid and destroy US financial institutions are to be expected. Obama will not retaliate.
4) Announce Russia is taking over the “international” space station and will no longer transport US astronauts. Obama may complain but will do nothing.
A capitulation by Obama to Putin in Syria could result in other challenges to US power, which Obama will undoubtedly not respond to with force.
1) Chinese invasion of Taiwan.
2) Terrorist (read Iran) sinking of a US aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf.
The body language in the recent meetings at the UN showed Putin treating Obama as his inferior. It also demonstrated Obama knows it and is powerless to do anything about it. Hence the move on Syria and Obama’s impotency in the face of Soviet expansion.
We have 18 more months of Obama in the White House. Expect 18 months of power diplomacy in which Obama continues to retreat and the US loses its stature as a world leader.
Do you know why? Look at Obama’s earliest speech to the UN for clues. In his worldview, evil exists because America is too strong in comparison with the rest of the world.