Russia, Syria turn attention to Palmyra and Deir Ez-Zor

For more information,see here:

http://www.thenational.ae/world/middle-east/us-and-russian-militaries-sharing-increasing-information-on-isil

Obama's 'degrade, defeat and destroy ISIL' campaign has failed abysmally. The only area where it stands to succeed is Iraq - as for Syria, all Obama has succeeded in doing is push ISIS away from American allies and towards the Syrian Government.

It was Obama's ISIS campaign which succeeded in uprooting the group out of much of Northern Syria and much of Iraq and into an easier battle with the Syrian Government. This caused the Syrian Arab Army to lose all influence in the province of Hasakah - handing it over to the Syrian Kurds so Syrian Government forces could be used elsewhere - and caused over half of the city of Deir Ez-Zor (as well as the surrounding province) to fall into the hands of ISIS.

Even more deadly was when ISIS succeeded in pushing the Syrian Arab Army out of Palmyra, an ancient city located in central Syria. This city fell, followed by Qaryatain, meaning had the government collapsed, ISIS could have taken control of Homs and then Damascus, leaving Obama's 'moderate rebels' holed up in north-western Syria.

Thankfully, Russia intervened to stop the Obama madness. America allying with ISIS will be the shameful part of Obama's legacy in Syria.

Russia started their campaign by putting 'all hornets into one nest' - namely, forcing many non-ISIL rebels into Idlib, securing Aleppo city and liberating much of western Syria. Now Russia and Syria are now in a position to strike back at ISIL, and to strike hard.

Another shameful part of Obama's legacy was in the recapture of Palmyra by ISIS after Russia and Syria succeeded in liberating Aleppo. Obama could have very easily stopped ISIS from regrouping to attack Palmyra, but he didn't, seemingly throwing a temper tantrum at losing the most important battle in the Syrian Civil War: the battle of Aleppo.

But do not expect this to last. New information suggests that not only will Russia and Syria focus on ISIS in Palmyra, but they will drive ISIS out of the region of Deir Ez-Zor, where the Syrian Government still maintains control of part of the city.

This is particularly pleasing because attacking the province of Raqqa, from a military perspective, is unwise for the Syrian and Russian forces. It is always better to attack an enemy from a weak spot. Unlike Raqqa, ISIS does not completely control the city of Deir Ez-Zor. This is why Deir Ez-Zor is a wiser launch-pad for the Syrian Arab Army and Russian airstrikes.

The operation to retake Deir Ez-Zor could take months, but at the conclusion of the battle, ISIS would suffer its worst defeat thus far in Syria. In Deir Ez-Zor and Homs provinces, the latter where Palmyra is located, there are a plethora of oilfields from which ISIS used to make money. While no longer able to trade with Turkey, it is at least a resource which ISIS can utilize in continuing their war on the world.

Due to increased ISIS boldness, Russia and Syria are likely to speed up their movements to oust ISIS from Palmyra and Deir Ez-Zor. It will be one of the most spectacular battles in the war on terror yet, matching Aleppo in restoring the legitimacy of Bashar Al-Assad and his government.