Shutterstock/Xtock. All rights reserved.There are signs of previously unknown levels of cooperation and alignment between the United States and the key Sunni states in the region, which could lead to a power-sharing agreement that satisfies their strategic interests. The principal events are as follows:
In October, a group of 53 Saudi imams unaffiliated with the government called for a jihad against the Russian, Iranian and Syrian governments. The group went even further than official condemnation and likened the Russian intervention to the 1980 war in Afghanistan—which led to the birth of Al Qaeda, in case anyone has forgotten. It is significant that the Saudi government allowed or was not able to stop the communication; the former would indicate approval of the intensified message while the latter would imply weakness and the desire of the Saudis to avoid internal dissension from the more radical clergy.
On 5 November, the USAF announced the deployment of six F-15C Eagles to Incirlik AFB in Turkey. That is interesting, because unlike the F-15E Strike Eagle the F-15C is a pure air superiority fighter that has no ground attack role, yet ISIS has no air force. The mission is to protect Turkish airspace; but from what? The only planes flying over Syria belong to the Combined Joint Task Force, to Russia or to the Syrian government.
