Has Syria's Assad ASKED us for help against ISIL?

[dixiegrrrrl]

I just read...
.President Obama discusses plan to combat Islamic State militants in weekly radio address, says, 'We're moving ahead with our campaign of airstrikes against these terrorists, and we're prepared to take action against ISIL in Syria as well' - @NBCNews

[sharp_stick]

1. They want the US to coordinate

with the Syrian government on actions. I don't think Assad would approve of airstrikes without this overtly but I don't see him complaining too loudly.

[Proud Public Servant]

2. Nope, but we don't care

Well, that's not true. We care enough to chair a special meeting of the UN security council, which is the least we could do before launching military strikes in a sovereign country. But if that doesn't really work out for us -- and remember, Russia is on the security council -- the plan seems to be to go ahead anyway...which I believe would make Obama the first Democratic president to launch a military action while ignoring the UN.

But it's okay. The whole plan is to fight ISIL while backing moderate rebels, in the hopes that Assad falls too and we end up with no ISIL and a moderate, friendly government in Syria. Simple, right? And sure to work. Plus, backing rebels in an Islamic country has never come back to bite us in the ass before, so why worry?

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. Oh....well....ok, then, al long as you put it that.

[KurtNYC]

13. it didn't take long to bite us in the ass this time... 24 hours or so...

Moderate and Islamist rebel groups in a Damascus suburb in Syria signed a “non-aggression” agreement with the Islamic State (ISIS), a Syrian monitoring group said. Some of the brigades are part of the U.S.-backed Syrian Revolutionary Front but have now agreed to a truce in Hajar al-Assad with ISIS in order to take down Syrian President Bashar Assad, according to the Agence-France Press. The shifting alliances highlight the challenge faced by the Obama administration in its fight against ISIS in Syria: Even moderates supported by the U.S. can't be relied on to help battle the terrorist group.

"The two parties will respect a truce until a final solution is found and they promise not to attack each other because they consider the principal enemy to be the Nussayri regime," the U.K-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. (Nussayri is the pejorative term used for Assad’s Alawite regime.)

http://www.ibtimes.com/us-backed-moderate-group-syria-signs-truce-isis-reports-1687662

[Fred Sanders]

3. Imperial empires do not need a vassal nation's permission, silly.

And the America World Police will soon be seeking a search and kill warrant from the UN, so not to worry about the legalities either.

[chowder66]

5. They are/were open to a counterterror partnership with the U.S

snip...

Syrian deputy foreign minister Faisal al-Makdad told NBC News that the Assad regime was open to a counterterror partnership with the U.S. — even though Obama had called for Assad's resignation as early as April 2011.

“When it comes to terrorism, we should forget our differences … and forget all about the past,” al-Makdad told NBC. “It takes two to tango ... We are ready to talk."


http://www.businessinsider.com/the-assad-regime-saw-an-clear-opening-in-obamas-isis-speech-2014-9

[dixiegrrrrl]

6. Thank you for that info

and the link.
I have been under the weather for a bit and have missed a lot of news.

[chowder66]

7. You're welcome.

I've heard snippets here and there about it.

[Adsos Letter]

8. Sorry to hear you've not been feeling well

Off-topic, but still...

[dixiegrrrrl]

9. Hey!!! Adsos.....

Long time no see.

Ear infection, which the doc says, strangely.."There's a lot of that going around".
wtf???

Definitely on the mend, tho.

[neverforget]

11. Just last year we were going to bomb Assad. Now, we

might be momentarily allied with Assad to fight ISIL while arming "moderate" Syrians to fight ISIL and Assad. What could possibly go wrong?

[KurtNYC]

14. this: "US-Backed Moderate Group In Syria Signs Truce With ISIS"

http://www.ibtimes.com/us-backed-moderate-group-syria-signs-truce-isis-reports-1687662

[neverforget]

15. What's not to love about this? We arm and bomb both sides.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

10. The enemy of my enemy is my friend unless he's the enemy of my friend..or something.

Particularly in the current round of pissing contests.

[DirkGently]

12. Here's someone who says Assad is manipulating the U.S.

ISIS beats up the rebels. We beat up ISIS. He tells everyone we're covertly on his side = WIN.

For Bashar Al Assad the ideal scenario is one in which ISIS helps him kill off his armed nationalist opposition in western Syria, American aviation assets pound ISIS positions in the east, and he sits comfortably in Damascus, feeling once again needed by the West as a useful partner against those arguably more evil than him. And a lucrative dividend awaits: The fact or perception of collaboration between Washington and Damascus driving wedges between the U.S. and every one of its regional partners, thereby serving the interests of the party Assad has so faithfully served: Iran.

Based on his experience with Washington since mid-2011, Assad has every reason to believe his strategy will bear fruit. Now, as his own forces focus on bombing, shelling, and starving civilians, ISIS fighters in western Syria work obligingly to eliminate his armed opposition. Now, as the U.S. contemplates an aerial campaign against ISIS targets in the east, Assad envisions a continuation of living large at the expense of others: Iran, Russia, ISIS, and now America. He expects harsh rhetoric from Washington. He will tell allies and adversaries alike to pay no attention to the words of those who have told him to step aside, warned him of red lines, threatened him with military strikes, and promised aid to opponents that never quite materialized in the forms or quantities required.

Indeed, if all the administration has to offer is more rhetoric, it is walking into a deadly geopolitical ambush. Even as Washington—ideally joined by partners—goes its own way operationally against ISIS with no reference whatsoever to the Assad regime, Assad will be believed both inside Syria and around the region when he claims that the fix is in. He will allege coordination and collaboration when none exists. He will hint at prominent visitors from Europe and the U.S., irrespective of their actual authorities. If all there is from Washington is talk, he will be believed.

http://www.newrepublic.com/article/119226/us-airstrikes-isis-syria-are-not-enough-punish-assad-too