Foreign policy hands wonder: What's the point of Obama's Syria policy?

Yet as the chaos spread, the Obama Administration had a good reason to resist involvement: Obama was elected as the anti-Bush, with no mandate clearer than staying out of messy conflicts in the Middle East. In doing so, the administration has missed the opportunity to build ties — and the political careers — of moderate elements in the rebellion, and is increasingly hostage to the fear of who will replace Assad once he falls.

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Sitting on the sidelines of the Middle Sast for two years has had its effect.

“The structure of US alliances in the region has completely changed,” said Ayham Kamel, a Beirut-based analyst for Eurasia Group. “You have an environment where there are no back channels to resolving issues in the region.”

On Thursday, Obama travels to Russia for a summit of the G20 nations. The meeting was always going to be tense, coming at a time when US-Russia relations stand at a post-Cold War low. Now the world will be watching its results with intense interest. One question: Will Putin use the gathering as a means of trying to humiliate Obama or will he indicate some desire to put pressure on Assad — assuming, and many US diplomats privately don’t, that he has that power?

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