i'm neither convinced that the russians are particularly upset about the israeli bombing runs in syria, nor that they weren't informed first.

i hear that netanyahu has actually been spending a lot of time with putin, lately.

it is the russian reaction that an escalation turns around; i expect it to be muted, as kicking the iranians out of syria is ultimately both in their interests, as well as in the interests of turkey.

the russians control the board, at this point. it's not clear how long that lasts, but it's what exists, right now.