海角大神

Is the United States going to war with Russia? It鈥檚 a fair concern in light of recent events. But a better question might be this: Is the US sliding into a war with Iran?

What prompts the talk of war is an escalation of conflict above Syria. After a US jet shot down a Syrian fighter plane, on Monday Russia sternly warned that it would shoot down any aircraft flying over western Syria.

But on Tuesday, a more telling event occurred. The US shot down an Iranian-made drone. It was the fifth such incident in the past six months. The US says it鈥檚 protecting rebels (and American advisers) who are battling Islamic State (ISIS) near the Syrian-Iraqi border. That appears to be true and we wrote about that two weeks ago.

Iran is fighting ISIS, too. But there鈥檚 a bigger picture 鈥� and pattern 鈥� emerging. As ISIS retreats, the US, Saudi Arabia, and Israel see Iran鈥檚 influence expanding. They fear an emerging 鈥淪hiite crescent鈥� of control from Iran to Lebanon.

The Pentagon says it isn鈥檛 picking a fight with Russia or Syrian President Bashar al-Assad鈥檚 forces. But given Iran鈥檚 rising military reach, any path to progress in the region will likely go through Tehran.