Turkey's rash decision to shoot down a Russian plane for allegedly violating its airspace isn't likely to trigger World War III. But Ankara demonstrated that it stands with the Islamic State and against the West.
The Obama administration's war against Islamic State is turning into another interminable conflict that serves the interests of other nations far more than America. U.S. policy has been impossibly incoherent.
While Russia's September entry into the war outraged Washington, Moscow showed clarity and realism. Russia simply sought to bolster Syria's President Bashar Assad against insurgents dominated by radical Islamists. Ironically, this approach is far more likely than the administration's confused policy to advance America's core interest of defeating the Islamic State and al-Qaida affiliates such as al-Nusra.