'..The bombs, tanks, fighter jets, and helicopter gunships now arriving in Latakia won't be any more effective in solving Syria's political problems because the writing on them is in Cyrillic..'<blockquote>'So, to summarize: All of the evidence suggests that military intervention will accomplish nothing, and all of the arguments about the likely failure of Western intervention apply equally well to Russia. The bombs, tanks, fighter jets, and helicopter gunships now arriving in Latakia won't be any more effective in solving Syria's political problems because the writing on them is in Cyrillic, and the explosions from Russian airstrikes won't succeed in magically repairing Syria's fractured political institutions.
The Kremlin, of course, can pretend that its intervention in Syria gives it "relevance" and that it means it has returned to a position of power throughout the wider Middle East. It can pretend that its soldiers and sailors will restore the status quo and return Syrian President Bashar Assad to a position of unquestioned supremacy. The Kremlin can pretend whatever it likes.
The reality, however, is that Russia is spending a substantial sum of its ever-scarcer resources on a mission that, by its very nature, is doomed to failure. The only hope, and it is unfortunately a faint one, is that the powers that be recognize this sooner rather than later.'
- Mark Adomanis,
Russia Should Heed Its Own Advice on Syria (Op-Ed), September 27, 2015</blockquote>
Context<Blockquote>
'..Additional losses could be billed for the Russian-supported war in southeast Ukraine..''..Mr. Putin might want to take another look at that history..'</blockquote>