Putin thrives on Obama's weakness

Russian President Vladimir Putin is moving forward on all fronts. Last week, he was the star of the Syria show at the U.N. General Assembly in New York. And over the weekend, Putin charged into Paris for the talks with European leaders on the situation in Ukraine. For Putin, everything is connected. And in his eyes, he is right about everything. This is why we see him popping up all over the world.

The West imposed tough economic sanctions on Russia after it annexed the Crimean Peninsula last year. Russia was suspended from the G-8. Putin was viewed as a bad guy who needed to be isolated. The West chose a collision course with Russia. But history shows that the Russians thrive at such moments. Just ask Napoleon.

Putin waited for his chance to strike back and the ongoing strife in Syria provided him with it. For the price of a one-way ticket to Syria, Putin purchased a new coalition with the Iranian, Iraqi and Syrian governments and the guise of a global anti-jihad fighter, which will immeasurably help Putin's public image.

The bottom line is that Putin knows what he wants, while U.S. President Barack Obama does not. That is the difference.

The effects of Russia's moves in Syria could already be seen in Paris over the weekend, where French-sponsored talks on Ukraine were being held. Putin appeared to be more tough, confident and demanding than in the past. Despite the severe economic crisis in Russia, Putin showed no flexibility. This was because the Ukrainian cards have been reshuffled due to the recent developments in Syria.

So what is left to do for the American-European coalition against the Islamic State group? It accuses Putin of attacking rebel groups which threaten the Assad regime, rather than Islamic State. This is the best the West can do and Putin well understands this. Putin's priorities are different than those of the Western coalition. Obama wants to timidly fight against Islamic State, while Putin is determined to fight strongly keep the Assad regime in power. That is the difference.

Putin knows exactly where he is going. He wants to show the world that he is a man of action, while his adversary Obama is just a man of words. This is working for Putin, because Obama is doing nothing to contradict him.

Putin's main goal is to get the international community to lift its economic embargo on Russia, which has caused the value of the ruble to fall 40% compared to Western currencies. For Putin, backing Assad is the means, while saving the ruble is the ends. For those who still do not understand, Putin and Assad have no love for each other, but they have shared interests.

A new international conference on Syria is set to take place this month. Participants will include the U.S., Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey and Egypt. Coordination of the fight against Islamic State is supposed to be a focus of the conference. It is very likely the Russians will try to bring the Assad regime into the anti-Islamic State fight. The Russians will drop as many bombs as necessary to accomplish their mission.

Let us remember that, unlike Obama, Putin does not really have to take domestic public opinion into account. Putin is interested in results, not morality. Putin does not care about civilians being killed in Russian airstrikes in Syria, just like he did not worry about civilian casualties in Chechnya.

Obama, on the other hand, is scared of harming civilians in Syria, a fear which has limited America's involvement in the fighting there. Yet over the weekend, American planes struck a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Afghanistan, killing numerous civilians. So the Obama administration is currently taking heat both for its inaction in Syria and the killing of civilians in Afghanistan. It is not easy being Obama these days.

The editor of the French L'Express newspaper tried to explain to his readers how Putin has become such a strong leader in such a short amount of time. "Putin is strong because Obama is weak," he said.

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