Strikes against Isis
President Obama authorised air strikes against the Isis fighters in Syria (1) while a number of countries will help although it seems not many European countries. Syria's president Assad (and Russia and Iran) condemns (2) that the US will try to stop Isis. For me, this is an indication the group may be on Assad's side instead of fighting Assad or he would have welcomed that one of his opponents gets destroyed so he needs to fight one powerful group less. In addition, Assad's army seems not to have attacked the city Raqqa (3) , Isis's main centre, while the army attacked other groups closer to Aleppo (a main centre of opposition against Assad). For me, another indication it may be part of Assad's strategy to regain power as Isis may weaken the strength of other opposition groups such as the FSA (Free Syrian Army) as it seems they oppose each other. Further, it even seems the Syrian military has been buying crude oil from Isis (3) so they seem to suppor