Love this podcast.

Support this show through the A-Cast supporter feature.

It's up to you how much you give,

and there's no regular commitment.

Just click the link in the show description to support now. Imagine you, you in a nice comfy seat, with your hands behind your head, taking in the views, instead of taking on the road, maybe even taking a nap.

That's the bliss of getting where you need to go without worrying about driving.

Book your train journey via avantiwestcoast.co.

and we'll take you there.

avanti west feel-good travel. are those of the participants not of Reuters news.

The big challenge for Putin is whether when military things start to go wrong

he will start to fall victim to the hope of one more push, one more

expansion. In other words, try and win the war militarily, which you can't do. What if Russia's bombing campaign in Syria has very little to do with Bashar al-Assad and even less with the Islamic State.

This week on war college, we do a little Kremlinology and try to find out what's really

behind Russia's latest military moves. You're listening to War College, a weekly discussion of a world in conflict, focusing on the stories behind the front lines.

Here's your host, Jason Fields.

Hello and welcome to War College.

I'm Reuters opinion editor Jason Fields

And I'm Matthew Gault with Warras Boren.

Today we're talking to Dr. Mark Goliotti.

He's a clinical professor of global affairs at New York University, and Mark is also an expert

on modern Russia.

His most recent book, Spetsnaz, Russia Special Forces, details the history of Moscow's elite soldiers.

...