Ivan Krastev: Is Vladimir Putin trying to teach the West a lesson in Syria?
SOFIA, Bulgaria - Last week, after Russian planes bombed antigovernment forces near the Syrian town of Homs, a senior American official complained to me: "What Russia is doing in Syria is not an effort to fight the Islamic State; it is not old-fashioned realpolitik. It is not even a cynical attempt to make us forget about Ukraine. Putin simply wants to hurt us."