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[–] tpdplsio ago 

The difference is the US has the money to waste on that shit and doesn't have anything to prove to anyone. Russia's economy is in the toilet and Putin is desperate to show his people that he deserves to stay in power by being able to resist the US and play on the world stage. It's risky for him, he can't afford being embarrassed, but the US will gladly embarrass itself to fuck with people like Putin.

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[–] SiWofos 0 points 1 point (+1|-0) ago  (edited ago)

Putin's a strong tactician: he's won every engagement from maintaining Transnistria and Nagorno-Karabakh as levers against potential NATO members, to pacifying Chechnya and putting Georgia and Ukraine in their place. (However, while Russia has gone from hell to pretty good during his reign, he doesn't appear to be playing a particularly long-term game, as the current sanction mess attests. But I might be wrong.)

But looking near term: his ability to trammel mischievous Muslims and not care what the world thinks of him puts him in a good position here. If Russian engagement does "escalate" the conflict, the possible options are: Russia props up Assad and wipes out ISIS or the USA and Turkey arms the fucking Islamic State in an attempt to bleed Russia in a long conflict. Is the USA really callous enough to do that, just to make Putin look silly?