The Syrian President’s strategy in recent years has been clear: let the West focus on destroying ISIS, his main enemy, and don’t make the outside world too angry.
Moscow’s fiery rhetoric—more theatrical than substantive—may be the limit of Russia’s immediate reaction, or at least a signifier that its response will not be on the battlefield.
The military strike on Syria could have a ripple effect on Trump’s standing, both abroad and at home, but it is unlikely to have an enduring impact on the outcome of the Syrian civil war.
The American military’s increasing use of drone strikes is a radically new and geographically unbounded use of state-sanctioned lethal force. What are we risking?