[mvonfr]

Our incoming Secretary of State is a Russia expert. If we are threatening sanctions on her watch, Putin better believe it.

Likely, Condi will play hardball; and her new deputies are all with previous history of similar approach (Stratfor commented on this today.)

It is less clear if this is a game worth playing: we impose sanctions, but Russian missiles meanwhile defend Syria from both us and the Israelis, and also leak to Iraq, changing the situation there to the worse. (See Debka's article today.) Net result is that both Russia and US suffer, and we might get Cold War II after all.

[bill1952]

First, if it's Debka, it's all crap.
They make CBS and Dan look like shining paragons of virtue.

"but Russian missiles meanwhile defend Syria from both us and the Israelis, and also leak to Iraq,"

Second, - never gonna happen and the Russians know it.

Such ordinance would have a life expectancy of about 3 seconds after delivery.

Russia, and Putin have a long history of such crap in the region, and hardball is the only way to go.

We have a large projection of force right there, and Putin giving us an ironclad reason to exercise it would be a priceless smack-down.

Putin is rattling sabers. Note my tag line.