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The George W. Bush parallel was lost on very few analysts when Vladimir Putin proudly announced that he was withdrawing a significant amount of Russia\u2019s forces from Syria because their \u201cmission is accomplished<\/a>.\u201d The announcement came just four days after the Atlantic\u00a0<\/em>published an overview of \u201cThe Obama Doctrine<\/a>,\u201d wherein U.S. President Barack Obama told journalist Jeffrey Goldberg that Russia was \u201cbleeding,\u201d \u201coverextended,\u201d and that Putin had made a terrible mistake. In both Syria and Ukraine, Obama argued, the Russian ruler had pursued policies that made his country weaker.<\/p>\n \u201cThe notion that somehow Russia is in a stronger position now, in Syria or in Ukraine, than they were before they invaded Ukraine or before he had to deploy military forces to Syria is to fundamentally misunderstand the nature of power in foreign affairs or in the world generally. Real power means you can get what you want without having to exert violence,\u201d the U.S. president said.<\/p>\n Yet there was Putin, proudly proclaiming the opposite. According to him, Russia could draw down its mission in Syria because it had achieved its goals. The White House, and the U.S. intelligence community, appeared completely surprised<\/a> at the announcement of Russia\u2019s drawdown. Once again<\/a>, Vladimir Putin had defied American expectations<\/a> and seemingly came out on top.<\/p>\n Putin\u2019s announcement was filled with lies and distortions, but one glaring truth underscored his words \u2014 unlike Bush\u2019s now-infamous declaration from the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln<\/em>, the Russian president indeed may have accomplished his mission<\/a>.<\/p>\n