"Obama's failure to test Putin's sincerity could risk America's Middle East policy being seriously compromised."

Exactly which policy is that?

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/10/06/432230/US-Syria-Russians-Brzezinski
http://www.mintpressnews.com/exporting-revolution-zbigniew-brzezinski-on-trial-at-the-un-general-assembly/210126/

I would have thought a 62-nation coalition, by its very nature, could hardly be isolated.

Cruise missiles being fired by the Russian Navy frigate on the Caspian Sea is a victory for Putin. It recalls the glory of the Royal Navy battle of Lake Tanganyika.
"To counter this threat, Lee proposed that motor gunboats be sent to Africa and transported through the interior to the lake.[7] They would be small and highly manoeuvrable, and—if armed with a gun with a range of 7,000 yd (6,400 m)—could both outrun and outgun the larger German ships.[10] Using small vessels that could be transported intact meant that they could be launched immediately onto the lake, eliminating the risk of their discovery and destruction while being assembled.[11] Sir Henry considered the plan and approved it with the words "It is both the duty and the tradition of the Royal Navy to engage the enemy wherever there is water to float a ship."[

David, a useful comment but there are some unanswered questions. The US (and Australia's) bombing of Syria is not of dubious legality; it is clearly illegal under Article 51 of the UN Charter. Russia's actions on the other hand are entirely legal under international law because they are at the invitation of the lawful Syrian government. What has happened to Australia's bombing since the Russians arrived? There is a curious silence from our FM on this point.
Secondly, you might have mentioned that the US has been allegedly attacking IS for a year, notably without success. The Russians claim to have destroyed 40% of IS capability in one week. Why is that do you suppose?
Thirdly, the remarkable hypocrisy of the US and its allies is in full view with (a) their complaints that Russia is bombing the terrorists they support and not just IS; and (b) refusing to share intelligence about IS because the Russians are not distinguishing between terrorist group A vs terrorist group B vs terrorist group C etc.
It is little wonder that the Iraqi government is now seriously contemplating asking for Russian help as American reluctance to seriously attack IS (which really is the Middle East branch of US terror policy) is leaving Iraq in even more of a shambles than that caused by the initial illegal invasion by the US and its ever willing ally, Australia.
The silence from our FM on these developments is deafening.

I think it can only be helpful to Israel if its doorstep becomes an arena for superpower confrontation.

Yes a Russian coalition of Willing Shiite countries/militias (Iran, Iraq, Assad's Syria and Hezbollah in Lebanon) is nothing to be sneezed at, but should be cherished.

This will tend to encourage US boots on the ground in defence of Israel and the good oil rich states of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE.

Israel likes Western troops defending its neighbourhood as it feels lonely and they're nice.

Don't mention Israel. A few shots into Syria and you'll get Assad , Moderate freedom lovers, ISIS , Iran , Iraq , rogue Turks, Libyan, Yemeni , Chechyn and Sydney schools pouring ammo into Tel Aviv.