Finally some clarity? .. [The US and Russian intentions are now known?] .. Russia wants to end the al-Qaeda and ISIL terrorist threat first and foremost, while the US is intent on replacing the Shia Muslim led government of Assad and Syria, with a Sunni Muslim government, first and foremost? .. AND THEN .. [continue their bombing campaign against the terrorists that are considered a threat to America?] .. [even though it's ineffective?] .. [forget the "war on terror"] .. At least the US and Russian intentions are now known, aren't they?

Putin had been support and protecting Assad government for years ( veto UN resolutions in Syria, erased Obama's red line on Assad) He tested the water before going in, He took Crimea so easy he sent army to Ukraine . sending Military support to Assad had been in his plan , soon as the nuclear agreement sign with Iran opened the air space for him to do it and he openly said "Russia will send troops to Syria if Assad asking for it", of cause, that is a difference way of saying we will send army to fight for Assad, we will not cooperate with you (the west and coalitions) keep out of our ways to avoid collision, very soon Iran will joint in . It is very dangerous situation on the coming days in Syria.

Russia is making every effort to stop the migrant crisis rocking Europe at the moment. If there’s anybody again who feels the pains of these Syria refugees and pressure mounting on “poor” European countries to receive and sustain the refugees, let them join in taking bold actions with Russia to confront and defeat ISIS. That’s the only way forward. That talk with Kremlin will only prove counter productive because nothing is going to make Russia change its mind about the move, having already mobilized. So if USA is serious about talking to Moscow, let Washington produce its action plan how to mobilize into what front –north, south, east or west – from which to mop up and clear out ISIS. The so-called corridor or no fly zone proposed by Turkey is useless and is aimed at further destabilizing the country to either create more migrants/refugees or increase civilian casualties, hence nobody is going to raise queries if Israel is not involved with sky-rocketing civilian casualties in Syria, Yemen and Libya. That’s just by the way. Anyway, Russia MUST avoid confrontation with Israel in this imperative task of saving humanity from the scotches of Islamic(ISIS) terrorism.

It is critical that the US disengage from Syria while the Russian military is present. This would achieve two goals. It would preclude the possibility of an actual direct engagement between the US and Russian military which both countries want to avoid and it would leave Russia without American help in defeating IS and others trying to overthrow the regime. This would put added cost and strain on Russia's military and give the US an idea of just how effective or ineffective Russia's military really is.

The efforts to avoid clashes between Russian and US forces are certainly a good idea. I must admit though, if I was making policy, I'd just abandon Syria entirely.

I remember when I was with Special Forces... seems a thousand centuries ago. We went into a camp to inoculate some children. We left the camp after we had inoculated the children for polio, and this old man came running after us and he was crying. He couldn't see. We went back there, and they had come and hacked off every inoculated arm. There they were in a pile. A pile of little arms. And I remember... I... I... I cried, I wept like some grandmother. I wanted to tear my teeth out; I didn't know what I wanted to do! And I want to remember it. I never want to forget it... I never want to forget. And then I realized... like I was shot... like I was shot with a diamond... a diamond bullet right through my forehead. And I thought, my God... the genius of that! The genius! The will to do that! Perfect, genuine, complete, crystalline, pure. And then I realized they were stronger than we, because they could stand that these were not monsters, these were men... trained cadres. These men who fought with their hearts, who had families, who had children, who were filled with love... but they had the strength... the strength... to do that. If I had ten divisions of those men, our troubles here would be over very quickly. You have to have men who are moral... and at the same time who are able to utilize their primordial instincts to kill without feeling... without passion... without judgment... without judgment! Because it's judgment that defeats us.