Air strikes? Talk of God? Barack Obama is following the jihadists’ script after James Foley beheading

 No, what they have done is move into the rebel won areas with weak governance because they don't have the weapons to defend themselves, let alone resist ISIS which had no distraction of fighting Assad. Occasionally fighting Assad over control of oil reserves which they then sell back to him.

 "But why is Isis in Syria? To overthrow the Assad regime, of course, which is what we too are trying to do, is it not?"

 Robert Fisk is more openly pro-Assad than ever. An apologist, not a journalist.

 "A soldier serving, of course, in the army of the Assad regime we have all sworn to overthrow."

 I see Chuck Hagel mentioned the $500 million the Americans have promised to the FSA at a press conference, though nothing on any specific actions to stop ISIS in Syria now. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs did warn of other sophisticated terrorist groups in Syria, presumably Jabhat al-Nusra, and some of them may be forced into the arms of ISIS as their fight against Assad is discounted, while others may think the fight against Assad should take priority over maintaining their ideology. If the rebels are crushed in Aleppo by ISIS, it isn't going to look good for the administration, even though they are distancing themselves from any suggestion they'll work with Assad. The logical step would be to pressure the Iranians to give up on Assad, but I'm expecting more that they do the minimum to remove ISIS from Assad, while letting Syrians go to Hell.

 If they really were mad for a struggle against ISIS, they'd have levelled ISIS' headquarters in Raqaa. Maybe they will now, ISIS seems to think that hostage threats will keep Obama in line, overestimating the willingness of the world's great imperial power to have sand kicked in its face. Obama did take out Osama after all. But that may be it, the convenience of allowing the Russian and Iranian mess to continue in Syria outweighs any liberationary impulse.

 "Rejecting a recent suggestion, Rhodes ruled out a rapprochement with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad to confront a mutual foe."
[http://www.theguardian.com/…/general-john-allen-obama-isis-…]