ESCALATION – AT 8:06 A.M. ET:  Russia re-entry into the Mideast is turning out to be bumpy.  And it is escalating tensions in the region.  From Fox: 

Russia ramped up the threat of a military confrontation between Turkey and Moscow Wednesday – a day after a Russian warplane was shot down by Turkey – by announcing that a state-of-the-art air defense missile system will be deployed at a Russian air base in Syria and that all its bombers will now be escorted by fighter jets on their missions.

Russian President Vladmir Putin ordered the S-400 missiles sent to the Hemeimeem air base in Syria's coastal province of Latakia, just 30 miles away from the border with Turkey, are capable of striking targets within a 250-mile range with deadly precision. The military also moved the navy missile cruiser Moskva closer to the shore to help protect Russian warplanes with its long-range Fort air defense system.

"It will be ready to destroy any aerial target posing a potential danger to our aircraft," Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said at a meeting with military officials. He also announced the severance of all military ties with Turkey and said that from now on, Russian bombers will always be escorted by fighters on combat missions over Syria.

COMMENT:   Turkey is a member of NATO, which makes the situation that much more serious.  A clash between Russia and Turkey could suck in the Western nations, including the United States.

And it's so odd:  the Turkey of today is not the Turkey that originally joined NATO.  That was a secular Turkey.  Turkey today is Islamic, and no longer covets association with the West.  I'd hate to be sucked into a conflict to defend the Turkish regime, although Obama might not mind.

November 26,  2015