plawolf
Lieutenant General
I think in the coming hours and days, Russian media will put more emphasis and coverage on the terrorists on the ground who machine gunned the Russian air crew. So it will look like vengeance/justice was served when Russian jets and/or ground forces hunt down and exterminate them.
If Turkey is stupid enough to send warplanes anywhere near those areas, the Russians will go out of their way to bag a few kills, and NATO will probably stay quiet even if that was over Turkish airspace.
But Putin is, above all else, a pragmatic man, so he will be looking to turn this to his advantage as much as he is out to get satisfaction.
Which is why I think he is going to pivot this into concrete gains on the ground. He is going to make sure the Turkish boarder with Syria is totally shut down, and will probably send in Russian ground troops and enlist the help of his own "moderate rebels" aka PKK to not only do that, but also get some long term payback against the Turks.
Back home, Putin can point to Turkey grounding their planes to show that he stared NATO down and NATO blinked first, which will boost his image and popularity and give him the time and space he needs to make his moves on the ground.
Looks like ISIS just lost their ace in the hole. If things does as I expect, this will be the final nail in the coffin for them.
If Turkey is stupid enough to send warplanes anywhere near those areas, the Russians will go out of their way to bag a few kills, and NATO will probably stay quiet even if that was over Turkish airspace.
But Putin is, above all else, a pragmatic man, so he will be looking to turn this to his advantage as much as he is out to get satisfaction.
Which is why I think he is going to pivot this into concrete gains on the ground. He is going to make sure the Turkish boarder with Syria is totally shut down, and will probably send in Russian ground troops and enlist the help of his own "moderate rebels" aka PKK to not only do that, but also get some long term payback against the Turks.
Back home, Putin can point to Turkey grounding their planes to show that he stared NATO down and NATO blinked first, which will boost his image and popularity and give him the time and space he needs to make his moves on the ground.
Looks like ISIS just lost their ace in the hole. If things does as I expect, this will be the final nail in the coffin for them.