Definitely GoT level intrigue here (actually I've never read of watched, but it seems culturally relevant...gotta keep up with the kids). Maybe it's naive underdog rooting, but I was hoping for the Kurds to start selling oil internationally until the US courts put the kibosh on that. How would they align. The enemy-of-my-enemy logic get complicated fast given that Russia and the Turks have a mutual hatred that goes back a loooong time. The complexity of the Syrian civil war is such that it at times makes me fear WWIII. Obama has never really articulated a strong foreign policy vis Syria, but while many thinks that makes him look "weak," I would argue that it makes him look smart. Containment has has its problems in the past (cough, Hitler), but it has also allowed us to not go to war with USSR/Russia for 70+ years now.