Multiple that the Pentagon air-dropped cargo pallets full of small arms, ammo, grenades and other weaponry to supposedly vetted forces known as the Syrian Arab Army operating in the Al-Hasakah province of Syria. The drop was made viaflying under fighter cover.

Although the air drop sounds quite bold seeing as Russia’s air power is now operating over Syria with impunity, Al Hasakah province is in the far northeast of the country. The area is one of the furthest from the central Syrian coast, where Russia has aircraft and support elements based. Additionally, the vast , with just a few strikes venturing towards the west, where ISIS largely rules.

Here’s an idea of what an air drop looks like from a C-17 under combat conditions:

The air drop was to forces much more inclined to go after ISIS than taking on the Assad regime, which has no presence in the eastern area of Syria today. Nor was it to the. Turkey is now a key player in the anti-ISIS air war, providing access to its bases for missions and flying its own as well, including those against the aforementioned ISIS fighting PKK. As a result, this air drop was about as uncontroversial as one can be in the complicated mess that is now Syria.

If such a resupply mission was executed over, say, northwestern Syria, where anti-Assad forces are deeply entrenched, it would have been a whole other type of geopolitical event.

As if the fledgling campaign against ISIS in Iraq and Syria could not get any more complicated,…

that few thought would actually ever succeed. In the end, . As such, it is a sign that the Pentagon is changing its strategy from train and equip to simply equip when it comes to supporting forces aimed at fighting ISIS in Syria.

When it comes to equipping those directly fighting the Assad regime, which Russia is now outright supporting militarily, the U.S. seems to take a third-party approach. It’s widely known that some of the Sunni gulf states, namely Saudi Arabia and Qatar, move arms to anti-Assad fighters, some of which are heavy in nature. This includes These missiles have been very effective against Assad’s armor and supply lines over the last year, helping shrink the territory held by the Assad regime drastically.

Although some of those fighting ISIS in Syria’s far west may have now gotten a boost via this recent air drop, and more TOW missiles for those in the east will help, . Without being armed with , to fend off aerial attacks and rebalance Assad’s now overwhelming air power advantage, anti-Assad forces are not likely to be able to hold the territory they do today, which has already shrunk from just last week.

Russia’s Mi-24P “Hind” attack helicopters are now operating over Syria, as clearly shown in new…

It was the anti-Assad forces’ taking of this territory, a shrinking edge around the central and southwestern part of Syria, that threatened Assad’s seat of power and caused Russia to intervene in the first place. Now, with only increasing capability at their fingertips, the potent mix of Russian, Assad regime and Iranian-backed forces are likely to continue retaking what was lost. Eventually they will turn their focus on an offensive against anti-Assad forces in the northwest of Syria. Considering the heavy firepower President Putin has already deployed to the region, it seems like Russia is committed and willing to do whatever it takes to crush the anti-Assad rebellion.

As for what President Obama thinks of all this? He did an interview with that aired yesterday that made it clear he sees Russia’s involvement in Syria as a failure in policy in Russia’s end, and not a lack of leadership on his.

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