James Clapper: “I personally believe it's a question of time before Assad falls, but that's the issue. It could be a long time.”

Ties with Tehran offer some regional governments a means of staking an independent position on Iran, thereby mitigating its isolation while also attempting to extract Iranian financial aid and investment for economic and social projects.

I think it has more to do with the psychology of Putin, and Russia. And he needs to assure his own people, Parliamentarians, he was talking to, and for that matter, himself, that Russia is still a great power.

A stark reminder that the terrorist threat to this country hasn't gone away. We cannot take our eyes off this ball.

I think this reflects Russian insecurity. And it's almost like, Putin needs a rhetorical security blanket, of making threats, like this.