Now the question begs to be asked---(with the new Obama foreign policy in place, the US foreign policy for Syria in tatters and virtually non existent, and Russia not being punished for basically doing nothing to end the Ukrainian irregular war)----can anyone explain to me in a sentence or two why we need Russian assistance in anything now or in the future?

Escalating Iraq-Syria war now pits Iran-Russia-Assad/Maliki v. ISIS, other extremists. US effectively on sidelines. http://nyti.ms/1muwI46
5:15 PM - 29 Jun 2014

Seems the Russians have effectively placed themselves on the side of Shia Islam and against the Sunni Islam---will be interesting to see how the Gulf States and the KSA now respond with basically an Iranian invasion supported by Russia of Iraq under the guise of combatting ISIS.

For Russia it has been in the ME always about the oil and naval ports tied to that oil.