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It is pretty clear that Russia has strategic interests in Syria and is drawing a red line of their own. So be it, leverage that.

To get there however the opposition needs to be strong enough to check Assad. That's the argument for our arming the rebels, albeit indirectly (e.g. Saudi Arabia sends arms to the rebels, we send arms to Saudi Arabia to replace them).

The contras in Nicaragua committed a lot of unsavory actions, but was justifiable in that Nicaragua at that time was an outpost of the Soviet empire.

Islamists, both Al Qaeda and Iran/Hezbollah, are now a greater strategic threat to us than Putin's Russia.

The contras in Nicaragua committed a lot of unsavory actions, but was justifiable in that Nicaragua at that time was an outpost of the Soviet empire....Islamists, both Al Qaeda and Iran/Hezbollah, are now a greater strategic threat to us than Putin's Russia.

The Contras weren't our enemies, al Qaeda, Iran, Hizbollah are. I'd suggest letting them kill each other for a few years isn't the worst solution. If we're going to insert ourselves, credibility requires we do it with the intention of our side winning, and I'm not sure al Quaeda and other assorted Sunni terrorists are "our side". If the idea is supplying arms to prolong a stalemate, better to let the Saudi's do it. I don't think that's our intention, but if it is, that's fine.