POOR VLAD, HE NEVER GETS THE UNICORN, ONLY THE HORN:

Moscow's anger over the WikiLeaks debacle may be why it soon changed tack and escalated its verbal attacks against the United States over Syria. A few days after the leaks, Russia unleashed an exceptionally harsh barrage of threats when the United States pulled out of cease-fire negotiations in Syria. On October 10, for example, chief Russian propagandist Dmitry Kiselyov said that the United States' "impudent behavior" toward Russia could have "nuclear" implications and that there had been a "radical change" in U.S.-Russian relations in recent weeks. Vladimir Zhirinovsky, another of President Vladimir Putin's hatchet men, advised Americans to vote for Donald Trump or risk being dragged into a nuclear war. At the same time, Russia positioned nuclear-capable missiles in Kaliningrad, which borders Poland and Lithuania, and test-fired three ballistic missiles elsewhere, making clear that its war of words was coordinated with the threat of military action.

Perhaps Russia thought that its aggressive behavior would cow the American public into supporting Trump, who advocates more friendly relations with Russia. But in reality, Moscow's effort appears to have backfired.

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