Expect to hear this argument from hawkish types who have long criticized President Obama for his lack of global swagger. It goes something like this: Obama's failure to hold Syrian President Bashar al-Assad accountable for his use of chemical weapons was a flashing neon sign to Vladimir Putin that he could run roughshod over both Ukraine and the American president.
Marc Ambinder and David Ignatius shoot down this theory with considered arguments that start with the fact that Russia has a singular interest in Ukraine that has nothing at all to do with Syria.
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