Here's a sampling of what the Republican presidential candidates said about Syria and Iraq at Tuesday night's debate. Ben Carson declared that Russian President Vladimir Putin "is trying to really spread his influence throughout the Middle East. This is going to be his base. And we have to oppose him there." Jeb Bush said, "It is tragic that you see Iraq and other countries now talking to Russia. It wasn't that long ago that Russia had no influence in the region at all. … We have to lead." Carly Fiorina insisted that, "We must have a no-fly zone in Syria because Russia cannot tell the United States of America where and when to fly our planes."

Notice a pattern? Five of the candidates on the main stage, and everyone in the GOP's undercard presidential debate, support a no-fly zone in Syria. Asked why, most of them said some variation of: We need to show Russia who's boss.