BEATING A DEAD BEAR:

An energy setback was, of course, predictable. Russia's understanding with Saudi Arabia had to be accepted by other producers, and when Iran's oil minister called the idea of a production freeze "ridiculous," prices resumed their downward slide. What Mr. Putin probably didn't expect was how tough the Saudi response would be. Within hours, Ali al-Naimi, the kingdom's petroleum minister, warned publicly that his country was ready to let the price of oil sink to $20 a barrel if necessary to put high-cost energy producers out of business. It would be hard to imagine worse news for Russia than oil at $20.

The second bit of bad news had to be even more of a surprise for Mr. Putin. While he has had his foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, negotiating a Syria cease-fire with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, U.S. military and intelligence leaders have been telling the White House that they don't like the deal. Defense Secretary Ash Carter thinks it is a "ruse," a senior administration official told The Journal. Mr. Carter, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Joseph Dunford, and CIA Director John Brennan have told the president that such an agreement with Russia threatens U.S. alliances in the region. Their proposals include more economic sanctions and more support for Syrian anti-government forces--even, perhaps, if a cease-fire takes hold.

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