Special to WorldTribune.com

by Dr. Jack Caravelli, Geostrategy-Direct

The 2014 annexation of Crimea and the ongoing civil war in Syria, while major political crises, also are replete with insights about the current state of the Russian military.

First, the Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s disdain for Barack Obama is palpable. If the Russian president continues to judge that Obama has no stomach for the fight, it is not implausible that Russia might challenge the West again elsewhere, possibly in the Baltic.

Conducting military operations on a third front would be a major challenge for Russian forces. Nonetheless, it also could trigger a new crisis as consequential as events in Syria, bringing a possible direct clash between NATO and Russian forces.

At a time when both the United States and its most powerful NATO ally, Great Britain, are suffering severe budgetary declines and diminished capabilities while saddled with timid political leadership, the Russian military is riding the crest of a wave changing the political dynamics in areas critical to U.S. national security.

Read Complete Article

  Geostrategy-Direct..com, Jack Caravelli, What Syria and Ukraine reveal about Putin and Russia’s military, WorldTribune.com