Putin’s caress of al-Assad speaks volumes about his morality and world view

Russian President Vladi- mir Putin and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are cut from the same cloth that’s soaked with the blood of their enemies, real and imagined.

It’s not surprising, therefore, that Putin, who has orchestrated a brutal crackdown in Russia on his opponents and critics, especially journalists, would lend his unequivocal support to al-Assad, who is responsible for the deaths of more than 200,000 Syrians and a refugee crisis unseen since the end of World War II.

The international community should not be swayed by the Russian leader’s insistence that al-Assad is the only one who can keep Islamic extremists from taking control of civil war-torn Syria.

“We believe it’s a huge mistake to refuse to cooperate with the Syrian authorities, with the government forces, those who are bravely fighting terror face to face,” Putin said this week in his address to the United Nations General Assembly.

Indeed, to demonstrate his support of al-Assad, Putin has been building up Russia’s military’s presence in Syria. He is sending equipment and troops under the guise of helping the Syrians battle Islamic extremists fighting under the Islamic State (ISIS) banner. Putin said Russia could launch airstrikes against the militants. It now has.

But President Barack Obama, whose strategy for dealing with the 4-year-old civil war in Syria has come under sharp criticism from Republicans in Congress, insisted this week that al-Assad must go.

“We must recognize that there cannot be, after so much bloodshed, so much carnage, a return to the prewar status quo,” Obama said during his address to the U.N.

A U.S.-led coalition has been launching strikes against Islamic State extremists in Syria, but that strategy does not seem to be working. Nonetheless, Russian fighter jets began a bombing campaign on Wednesday, supposedly targeting insurgent strongholds.

France’s support

Obama did receive an important endorsement for his stance when French President Francois Hollande said “nobody can imagine” a political solution in Syria if the president is allowed to remain in power.

Hollande called on countries with influence on Syria, including Gulf nations and Iran, to be engaged in a transition.

But Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Syria will be taken over by Islamic State if the international community makes getting rid of al-Assad its top goal.

With Russia and Iran shielding Syria from U.N. sanctions and continuing to provide the government in Damascus with military and financial support, the challenge to bring about desperately needed change has been made all the more difficult.

In the end, however, neither the United States nor any European country has the wherewithal to persuade al-Assad to give up power. The countries of the Middle East that would be most affected by Iran’s expansionist goals and Russia’s desire to become a superpower again by resurrecting Soviet Union can no longer sit on the sidelines.

Saudi Arabia and the others must realize that their futures will be in jeopardy, regardless of which of the three, Islamic State, Russia or Iran, emerges victorious. All are an equal threat.

Therefore, while President Obama seeks to bolster the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic extremists, there needs to be a commitment on the part of the Arab states to play a more direct, aggressive role in quelling the spread of terrorism.

Russia’s Putin, Syria’s al-Assad and Iran’s Rouhani all have the blood of their people on their hands. They govern through force and intimidation, and have shown no hesitation in getting rid of their opponents – permanently.

They cannot be permitted to spread their political ideology across that troubled region of the world.

The international community must also become engaged in not only ending the civil war in Syria and stopping Russia’s and Iran’s expansionist goals but in persuading al-Assad to step down.

So long as he is in power, the refugee crisis will continue unabated, putting pressure on European nations that are being overrun by Syrians fleeing the war.

Most of the Syrians want to return home, but they won’t so long as al-Assad is in power.