Russia forces US to move against IS

US special forces and the Kurdish military rescued about 70 hostages from the IS in a raid of a prison in northern Iraq on Thursday, during which a US soldier was killed.



It's the first ground maneuver by the US military in the IS-controlled areas.



The Pentagon soon dismissed the speculation of a change of US tactics in Iraq and US ground forces engaging the IS. People are convinced that the operation was just an isolated case.



It seems it was Russian air strikes on IS that pressured the US into the military operations on Thursday. In other words, the Kremlin was behind the US operations in the Middle East.



The US has labeled the IS as a terrorist organization from the very beginning. However, the US military hasn't weakened the organization but has seen it growing after years of fighting with it. The reason for this is simply obvious for the whole world to see: The IS fights the Assad government, and it has been used by Washington which also supports Syrian opposition forces. US attacks aim to curb the IS from going out of control, rather than destroy it.



The hatred of the US toward Assad stems from what it sees the position of Damascus as the last stronghold of Russia in the Middle East. The US never acknowledges its true intention even though it's no secret. The terrorist nature of the IS and the heinous crimes it committed shocked the world, so the US had to treat it as no less an evil than the Assad administration.



The sudden strikes on IS by Putin and successful destruction of hundreds of its targets have torn off the disguise of the US, and it will lose its last credibility if it still holds fire.



The US successfully rescued about 70 hostages. However, the US might have hyped the rhetoric of their "imminent mass execution" in order to add sensation. After all, the public won't refuse the dramatic stories like those they see in Hollywood movies.



Moscow has successfully set the agenda on the strikes against IS, become a leading force in the Syrian situation, and brought new energy to the Middle East. Russia has been an outsider in the Middle East ever since the collapse of the former Soviet Union, but Putin has brought his country back as an influential geopolitical power in the region.



The US has too long a global frontier for its national power, and gaps inevitably occur. Though Russia is incomparable with the US in terms of national power, it's possible for Putin to grip regional success from flash opportunities.



Moscow will have the Syrian situation under control at least for now, and Washington will have to spend a great deal of energy in order to have it overturned. It's difficult for the US to find an excuse to do so, while it's also unclear whether its European allies will share the risk.

