Given the task definition and input, reply with output. In this task, you are given a text of many news articles seperated by special token "|||||". Your task is to summarize them.

Former Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich on Sunday blasted President Barack Obama's diplomatic strategy with Russia President Vladimir Putin regarding Syria's use of chemical weapons, saying Obama is now "following from behind." 
  
 "You have Putin playing chess and Obama playing, frankly, a very lucky game of tic-tac-toe," Gingrich said on CNN's "State of the Union." "Putin stepped in to maximize Russian influence in the Middle East. That is a strategically defeat for the United States." 
  
 "We are now relying on the Russians," said Gingrich, now a host of CNN's 'Crossfire." We're now following from behind -- not leading from behind. This is not a good long-term position." 
  
 The former House speaker from Georgia also said the American public is very wary of intervening in the Middle East. 
  
 "People are sick of the violence. They are sick of the Middle East. They are sick of where we are as a country right now," Gingrich said. 
  
 Read more about: Barack Obama, Newt Gingrich, Syria ||||| Recent events have only made Syrian President Bashar Assad stronger, Sen. Roy Blunt said Sunday. 
  
 The Missouri Republican, who opposed President Barack Obama's call for military action against because of its reported use of chemical weapons, said a small attack would have been a mistake. 
  
 “Assad would have said 'Look, the Americans took their best shot at me… and I’m still here,' ” Blunt said. “I think Assad’s a lot stronger today than he was two weeks ago.” 
  
 Blunt also expressed concern for the message the U.S.’s moves were sending to Iran. 
  
 “Iranians should understand that what’s happened in the last two weeks is not the template for Iran,” he said. “A nuclear capable Iran is not acceptable; this would be a totally different debate in the Congress. 
  
 The U.S. will have a tough time recovering from the message it has sent both allies and enemies alike in the past two weeks, Blunt said. “Our adversaries have taken heart in seeing the uncertainly." 
  
 Read more about: Iran, Roy Blunt, Syria ||||| Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin said Sunday it's "no coincidence" that Russia struck a deal with the U.S. on Syria's use of chemical weapons, praising President Barack Obama's threat to use a military strike. 
  
 "This progress would not have been achieved without the threat of a military strike by President Obama," the Michigan Democrat said on CBS's "Face the Nation." "It's no coincidence that after that threat was achieved and made -- and after our Foreign Relations Committee on a bipartisan basis voted to authorize the use of force, the Russia finally decided it would put some pressure on Syria and get involved." 
  
 "It is so important that the continuing threat be very readily available," Levin said. 
  
 Read more about: Barack Obama, Carl Levin, Syria ||||| If he were president, Sen. John McCain on Sunday he would have stepped up support for the Free Syrian Army and put weapons in the hands of the rebels. 
  
 Appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” the Arizona Republican who lost Barack Obama in 2008, called the deal with Russia a “loser” saying it gave the country a position of power it hadn’t seen since 1970. 
  
 “It’s not a matter of trust it’s a matter of whether or not it will be enforced,” McCain said, expressing concern over what the U.S.’s next steps would be should Syrian President Bashar Assad pursue another attack. 
  
 “Suppose that this deal is made and then Bashar Assad does not comply?” McCain said. And quoting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, he said Russia could stop the U.S. from following through with a use of force. 
  
 “Whatever happened to the president’s red line' where he said if they use chemical weapons we will respond?” McCain asked. 
  
 Read more about: John McCain, Foreign Policy, Syria, Sarin ||||| Diplomatic elder statesmen Henry Kissinger and Zbigniew Brzezinski told Fareed Zakaria on Sunday that Russia's prime motivation in its Syria diplomacy was stability. 
  
  
  
 Speaking on "Fareed Zakaria GPS" on CNN, both said the superpower deal on Syria was designed to allow President Vladimir Putin to combat the tide of radical Islamic power in the region and also within his nation's borders - but that the U.S.-Russia deal on Syria also managed to extricate the United States from a difficult situation. 
  
  
  
 "Putin, in my opinion," Kissinger said, "considers radical Islam his biggest security threat. ... He saw an opportunity to perhaps to get into step with us, solving a common problem." 
  
  
  
 Brzezinski said the two nations don't have the exact interests but "compatible interests." He said Putin is particularly fearful that the Muslim population in Russia's Caucusus region "might explode." 
  
  
  
 Kissinger, 90, is a former secretary of state who served both President Richard Nixon and President Gerald Ford. Brzezinski, 85, was President Jimmy Carter's national security adviser. Both were, and continue to be, polarizing figures. 
  
  
  
 Brzezinski told Zakaria he saw Putin as having a secondary motivation, the chance to reduce America's stature in the world. "Russia saw an opportunity to also become a significant player in this game," Brzezinski said, but he didn't see that as a bad thing, since it helped the two nations solve a common problem. 
  
  
  
 Both said that American policy on Syria was headed down the wrong path before the deal was made. Kissinger said he thought the Obama administration had been focused too narrowly on efforts to drive President Bashar Assad out of power as opposed to "the historic conflict between Shiites and Sunnis." 
  
  
  
 Brzezinski was even harsher, saying than an attack on Syria would have been "pointless." 
  
  
  
 He said: "Our actions were misconceived, badly calculated. This gets us off the hook." 
  
 CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article included some misspellings of Zbigniew Brzezinski's last name. 
  
 Read more about: Russia, Islam, Henry Kissinger, Syria, Vladimir Putin, Zbigniew Brzezinski ||||| Rep. Michael McCaul says he hopes Russian troops will take the lead on the removal of chemical weapons from Syria. 
  
  
  
 Praising the U.S-Russia accord on Syria, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee said Russia has the most leverage to successfully disarm Syrian President Bashar Assad. 
  
  
  
 Russian President Vladimir Putin "is in a unique position, rather than the president, to get this done.” McCaul told said on "Fox New Sunday." “He’s now come forward as a leader and he owns this.” 
  
  
  
 McCaul, a Texas Republican and Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) agreed that while the U.S. should be involved in verifying that the chemical weapons had been eliminated, no U.S. troops should be deployed in Syria. 
  
  
  
 “It can be done without a shot fired, and hopefully without any American troops on the ground,” McCaul said. 
  
 Read more about: Russia, Syria, Cold War, Michael McCaul, Vladimir Putin |||||

It's "no coincidence" that the US and Russia were able to broker a deal after the Obama administration threatened a military strike in Syria, Carl Levin said today. "This progress would not have been achieved without" that pressure, which forced Russia to finally opt to "put some pressure on Syria and get involved." Echoing the sentiments of John Kerry today, Levin added that "It is so important that the continuing threat be very readily available." Elsewhere on your Syria reactions, as per Politico: Henry Kissinger: "Putin, in my opinion, considers radical Islam his biggest security threat. ... He saw an opportunity to perhaps to get into step with us, solving a common problem." John McCain: Russia deal is a "loser. It’s not a matter of trust, it’s a matter of whether or not it will be enforced... Suppose that this deal is made and then Bashar Assad does not comply?” Zbigniew Brzezinski: "Russia saw an opportunity to also become a significant player in this game." But a US attack would have been "pointless. Our actions were misconceived, badly calculated. This gets us off the hook." Michael McCaul: The House Homeland Security Committee chair wants Russian boots on the ground, and says Vladimir Putin "is in a unique position, rather than the president, to get this done. He's now come forward as a leader and he owns this.” Roy Blunt: The Missouri senator says a small strike would have been folly. “Assad would have said 'Look, the Americans took their best shot at me, and I’m still here.' I think Assad’s a lot stronger today than he was two weeks ago. Our adversaries have taken heart in seeing the uncertainty.” Newt Gingrich: "You have Putin playing chess and Obama playing, frankly, a very lucky game of tic-tac-toe. That is a strategically defeat for the United States. We are now relying on the Russians. We're now following from behind—not leading from behind. This is not a good long-term position."