Understanding Syria: Whose Side Are We on, Anyway?

The White House and the Kremlin are currently working in parallel toward a common objective in Syria: cutting off support to Syrian rebels fighting the Assad regime by closing the Turkish-Syrian border. What makes this situation confusing, even to many reporters and commentators, is that it is being promoted as an effort to “fight ISIS.” The irony is that, to achieve his goals, Vladimir Putin is using both ISIS as well as a U.S.-supported, anti-Turkish Kurdish group.

It is no secret that Russia entered Syria to support the country’s dictator, Bashar al-Assad. As a result, Putin has shown very little interest in fighting ISIS, which has allied militarily and economically with Assad against other rebel groups, which it seeks to destroy. As a result, clashes between Assad and ISIS have been very limited. Instead, they have ganged up against these rebels in what often seems like coordinated offensives. Russia’s own military operations have almost entirely targeted Turkish-backed rebel factions in northwestern Syria, which oppose ISIS, and which had achieved success in driving out Assad’s forces from Idlib province earlier in the spring. Russia’s immediate military goal is to roll back those gains.

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