Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) writes in a new op-ed that President Obama is incapable of anticipating Russian President Vladimir Putin’s next move

Rubio added that Putin is acting against America’s national interests in both the Middle East and Ukraine.

“Ever since then-secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced a ‘reset’ of relations with Russia in 2009, the consequences of six years of failed U.S. policy towards Russia have played out in the annexation of Crimea and the battlefields of Ukraine,” the White House hopeful writes.
“Somehow, as the evidence of failure grows, President Obama still can’t seem to understand Vladimir Putin’s goals,” the senator writes. “Putin wants nothing less than the recognition of Russia as a geopolitical force.

“He has already achieved this in Europe, and he is now pursuing the same goal in the Middle East, exploiting the vacuum left behind by President Obama’s ‘leading from behind’ approach.”
Rubio argues that Russia’s involvement with Syria is especially troubling, given Moscow’s support for Syrian President Bashar Assad. “In the absence of American leadership, Syria has become a playground for malign, anti-American forces such as ISIS, al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, the Iranian Quds Force — and now Russia,” Rubio writes.

“The situation will only get worse until the U.S. provides leadership to counter the forces of extremism,” he adds.
The U.S. and the European Union have already imposed some sanctions on Russia, but we need to do much more to bar Russian firms, especially state-owned firms, from Western markets. The U.S. also needs to help the victims of Russian aggression by providing arms, not just “nonlethal” supplies, to the democratically elected government of Ukraine. If Russia does not halt and reverse its military buildup in Syria, the U.S. should sanction the Russian defense companies and the individuals involved.

More important, Rubio’s call for more aggressive measures in both Ukraine and Syria reflects his instinct to push for more confrontation whenever possible. Despite the obvious failure of the administration’s attempts to arm a “moderate” Syrian opposition, Rubio wants to persist in that folly.
Rubio insists on countering Russian actions in Syria, but at no point does he clearly explain why the U.S. should waste resources and effort in trying to counter those actions. That doesn’t sound very savvy to me.