// Gromit, Of course people are apologising for Putin. //
I am not. I do not see others apologising.
// on the one hand you condemn what you see as western interference and on the other bemoan the fact that we can't do anything more. //
It is not about doing anything more, it is about doing it right. The West's strategy is confused. We are supporting Islamic extremists and that cannot be right. The West wan to remove Assad at all costs, even if that is handing Syria over to Islamic State. That is the part I bemoan.
// Why do you think Putin has 'won' exactly? //
He waited for the best strategic time to join the war. He had one strategy, and he saw it through.
// Putin will have won if he manages to instal a reluctant Assad as head of a compliant E Med puppet state, but he needs to act quickly not just because of the US election, but the worsening economic situation at home. //
He already had Assad as his puppet, this is about maintaining the status quo. The US election is irrelevent to this. The economy at home may have some bearing on his foreign policy.
// He's gambling that aggressive posturing abroad will keep his popularity up in time for the next election in 2018. //
This wasn't a war of his choosing. The Arab Spring, and the US bankrolling the Syrian rebels was out of his control. Putin is not involved in aggressive pisturing, he is fighting to keep his bases in Syria, and an influence in the Mediterranean. Losing that, would not be good for votes at home.
// he could have kept Assad in power over the whole whole of Syria and continued to enjoy some influence in the region if he'd reined Assad in more at an earlier stage. //
Rein in? You mean let the rebels win. That would have avoided the war, but it would not have been good for Russia. Handing power to any Islamists in Syria is not an option for Russia.
// We would not have had a war and everything that had gone on since. Mind you, it still might work out ok: he gets a war to play with his weapons, look strong, and maybe a united Syria is not so good for him. //
I can't even make sense of that jumble of thoughts. Russia and Putin have won, so he will be happy with this outcome.
// But I'd be amazed if he planned it like that. He couldn't even invade Ukraine properly. //
I wasn't going to mention Ukraine, but since you have. Another place where he has outwitted the West. Putin has got every thing he wanted out of the invasion of Crimea, and the EU did nothing but stand by and watch. Of course the CIA are aiding the Ukrainians, but that is too little, too late.