Who is better at foreign policy: Obama or Putin?

The last six years have been a long, strange trip on the diplomatic and military roller coaster

Barack Obama, Vladimir Putin
(Image credit: (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File))

Not long ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin seemed to be master of the world.

Despite premature reports of its demise, the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics — Putin's special project — went off without a memorable hitch. Months earlier, with an unintended assist from Secretary of State John Kerry, Putin thwarted President Obama's plan to lob missiles into Syria, very possibly saving Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.