Russian President Vladimir Putin is threatening American forces. President Trump must respond swiftly and forcefully to put the dictator in his place.
CNN reports that Russia is threatening our forces along Syria’s border with Iraq. Nobody wants a Russia-U.S. proxy war. We don’t want Trump to launch a regime-change war in Syria. But to avoid such undesirable clashes, Trump needs to show willingness now to fight.
He must warn Putin that any attack on American personnel in Syria will trigger American retaliation. He must be crystal clear here that if Russian warships launch missiles against U.S. personnel, those vessels will be attacked and destroyed. If Russian aircraft conduct attack runs against U.S. personnel, they will be shot down. If Russian ground formations engage U.S. personnel, those formations will be destroyed.
Challenging Putin isn’t something Trump likes to do. But Putin needs to get the message that although we don’t want a fight, we will not allow ourselves to overawed, and that if anyone starts a fight with us, we will finish it.
Putin must be made to understand that the Trump administration won’t accept flimsy excuses about mistaken identity, or inadvertently errant targeting, or confusion about the mixing of U.S. forces with “terrorists.”
Finally, Putin must be made to understand that no subterfuges, no efforts to establish deniability by such ruses as using irregulars or mercenaries to attack U.S. personnel, will be allowed to give him the slightest cover. Such deceit and aggression will be treated exactly the same as if Putin were to use uniformed military forces.
As the Washington Examiner‘s Tom Rogan noted in December, Russia has long used deniable forces to push for American withdrawal from Syria. In February, an attack on U.S. ground forces by mercenaries directed by Russian intelligence was prevented only when Defense Secretary Jim Mattis ordered air and artillery strikes to “annihilate” those mercenaries. Hundreds of Russians were killed.
Trump must again ensure Putin understands that Russia will bear a heavy and bloody burden if any American blood is spilled by his activity in Syria.
Some commentators who call for toughness against Russia or shows of force in Syria are hawks, in search of a U.S. war. That’s not us. The last thing the America needs is another war for regime change in the Muslim world.
We look at the bubbling unease in Syria from a perspective of realism. So does Putin. He makes policy based on what can feasibly be achieved without significant losses. Where Putin senses weakness, as he did in President Obama, he advances his interests with bold ambition. His seizure of Ukrainian territory and his salvation of Bashar Assad in Syria attest to that. Yet where Putin senses resolution, he recalibrate towards compromise. When President George W. Bush went against Putin’s threats and ordered U.S. military aircraft to resupply Georgian forces during Russia’s 2008 invasion of that nation, Putin blinked and agreed to a cease-fire.
The same strategy of American strength will work in Syria. If he faces clear deterrence, Putin will find compelling reason to leave our forces alone. In Trump’s deference to Secretary Mattis on force protection, there is also the clear signal, which Putin understands, that Russia is dealing with an administration willing to back up its warnings with violent action.
We need Trump to say what Mattis will otherwise demonstrate with force: if Russia challenges American deployments, it will pay a heavy and bloody price.
