For months, Barack Obama received politically tainted intelligence briefings about the rise of the Islamic State, causing him to confidently consider the group the “JV team.” What reason do we have in not assuming that he’s receiving bad info on Russia’s intentions? Obama has tried to quell concerns over Russia’s aggression in Syria. “We’re not going to make Syria into a proxy war between the United States and Russia,” Obama said Friday. “This is not some superpower chessboard contest. And anybody who frames it in that way isn’t paying very close attention to what’s been happening on the chessboard.” Obama shouldn’t have been quick to insult the nation’s intelligence. Not only had the Great Bear brought anti-aircraft weapons into Syria to fight a terrorist organization that has no air force, but Sen. John McCain said America’s secretary of state called his Russian counterpart three times and Obama had a long conversation with Vladimir Putin in order to figure out what Moscow is up to. The answer became clearer when a Russian general showed up in Baghdad Wednesday to announce that Russia would strike Syria within the hour. Now, after days of bombings, it’s apparent Russia is targeting CIA-backed Syrian rebels. On Saturday, the Obama administration’s strategy was to double down, to send more arms and make more bombing runs. It’s time, however, to rethink that chessboard.