Ted Cruz: How U.S. must push back Putin in Syria

Editor’s Note: Ted Cruz is a U.S. senator from Texas. He is seeking the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

Over the last week, the world has once again looked on aghast as President Vladimir Putin has taken violent advantage of regional instability to re-establish Russia’s influence, this time in the Middle East. Despite promises to join the United States in a counterterrorism effort against ISIS in Iraq and Syria, Putin is on a mission to protect Russian assets in the Mediterranean by propping up his client, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Ted Cruz

Meanwhile, the Obama administration has been caught flat-footed as Putin’s actions threaten to inflame and destabilize an already acute crisis.

Enough already. We don’t need a reset. We need a reality check.

Putin has been unmoved by the Obama administration’s threats of isolation on the international stage, and economic sanctions have on their own been no deterrent to his opportunistic behavior. More of the same will not result in success.

We need a coherent plan to address both the specific crisis in Syria and the challenge posed more broadly by Putin’s resurgent Russia. The good news is that America still has options – if our leaders can summon the will to exercise them.

For starters, in Syria we can’t double down on the failed strategies that have given Putin his opportunity to intervene. We are now two years out from President Obama’s proposed intervention after al-Assad used chemical weapons against his own people.

Displaced Syrian residents wait to receive food aid distributed by the UN Relief and Works Agency at the besieged al-Yarmouk camp, south of Damascus, Syria, on January 31, 2014. According to the UN Envoy for Syria, an estimated 400,000 Syrians have been killed since an uprising in March 2011 spiraled into civil war. See how the conflict has unfolded.

An injured man lying in the back of a vehicle is rushed to a hospital in Daraa, Syria, on March 23, 2011. Violence flared in Daraa after a group of teens and children were arrested for writing political graffiti. Dozens of people were killed when security forces cracked down on demonstrations.

Anti-government protesters demonstrate in Daraa on March 23, 2011. In response to continuing protests, the Syrian government announced several plans to appease citizens.

Syrian children walk over bricks stored for road repairs during a spontaneous protest June 15, 2011, at a refugee camp near the Syrian border in Yayladagi, Turkey.

Jamal al-Wadi speaks in Istanbul on September 15, 2011, after an alignment of Syrian opposition leaders announced the creation of a Syrian National Council -- their bid to present a united front against Bashar al-Assad's regime and establish a democratic system.

Delegates from Arab League member states and Turkey discuss a response to the government's crackdown in Syria on November 16, 2011.

Supporters of al-Assad celebrate during a referendum vote in Damascus on February 26, 2012. Opposition activists reported at least 55 deaths across the country as Syrians headed to the polls. Analysts and protesters widely described the constitutional referendum as a farce. "Essentially, what (al-Assad's) done here is put a piece of paper that he controls to a vote that he controls so that he can try and maintain control," a US State Department spokeswoman said.

Syrian refugees walk across a field in Syria before crossing into Turkey on March 14, 2012.