JohninMK Sun Jan 10, 2016 3:22 am
Quite an interesting analysis on why Syria is not really attaching ISIS yet. These is the intro, more at http://fortruss.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/why-does-russia-allies-prioritise-al.html
The question is often asked about the reasons why Russia, Syria, Iran and “Hezbollah” attack mainly but not exclusively al-Qaeda fi bilad al-Shan (Jabhat al-Nusra) and its allies among the Syrian opposition rather than attacking the so-called “Islamic State” group, also known as “ISIS”, “ISIL”, “IS” or “Daesh”. For years, many Middle Eastern analysts consciously believed that a sort of “alliance existed between Assad and ISIS' leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi”. This sort of ignorance in Middle Eastern dynamics emanates from a long lasting “conspiracy theory” that managed to affect prestigious media worldwide.
None the less, the Syrian Army command, and now its allies, have avoided clashing with ISIS in many occasions and on several fronts. In few words, ISIS is said to be “much easier and less urgent to defeat than al-Qaeda in Syria”. Also, as key players in the Middle East and the United States of America have benefitted from ISIS presence and expansion in Syria and Iraq for various reasons, so did Assad and his allies.
The answer to such a strategy comes from one of the highest decision makers of the joint operations room in Damascus that includes Russia, Syria, Iran and Hezbollah (3+1).