But does that make it any more likely they'll invade Estonia or Latvia as NATO is currently claiming (my original point)? That is such an unlikely scenario that would end very badly for Russia. Yet we're being sold this as a plausible scenario and the militaries in a number of countries are spending massive amounts in preparation and sabre rattling.

I'm not saying they didn't do those things or were justified. But that was a very different scenario as Ukraine was very unstable.

The Syrian stuff is a whole other beast. US partners like Saudis and Qatar are supporting some pretty awful stuff in Yemen and Syria too. Even the supposedly moderate rebels the US is backing were apparently extremely hostile to US soldiers who deployed in a village recently, calling them invader devils. Aleppo is bad but if the rebels took the save exit to other towns as the UN chief offered then the horror the civilians stuck there are facing would end. The cease fire failed so I'm not sure what their plan is as the US isn't going to double down. Unless they are betting on Clinton being a war hawk.