The simple fact of the matter is isis was still taking territory in latter 2015, they took Palmira in May 2015 and continued to advance through Sept 2015. Gee what happened in Sept 2015?
Russia Is Launching Twice as Many Airstrikes as the U.S. in Syria
“From Feb. 10 to 16, aircraft of the Russian aviation group in the Syrian Arab Republic have performed 444 combat sorties engaging 1,593 terrorist objects in the provinces of Deir Ez Zor, Daraa, Homs, Hama, Latakia and Aleppo,” the Russian defense ministry claimed in a
statement.
That’s double the rate of air strikes that the much larger U.S.-led coalition has managed to sustain in its own, much older campaign against ISIS in Syria and Iraq.
Leave out the coalition airstrikes in Iraq, where there are no Russian forces, and the disparity appears even greater. While lately Russia has launched around 60 air raids every day in Syria, the U.S. and its allies have pulled off just seven, on average, since launching their first attacks in Syria in September 2014.
To be fair, the coalition’s daily pace of air strikes fluctuates. On Feb. 21, U.S. and allied planes launched 14 attacks in Syria—a high-than-average number, but still far fewer raids than Russia launched every day in mid-February.
The air-power gap is plainly evident on the battlefield. With Russian jets providing cover, regime ground forces are steadily pushing back against ISIS and rebel fighters in western and north-central Syria. In late January, regime troops captured from rebels the town of Sheikh Miskeen, which lies between the Jordanian border and Damascus and was a key crossroads in the rebels’ supply network.".
As far as conspiracy theories, I hardly think listening to John Kerry state that the US's main objective in Syria was regime change would qualify as conspiracy.
As far as the Obama administration, I have blamed them for nothing other than considering regime change to be paramount to fighting isis. And in John Kerry's own words hoping a surging isis would force change on the Assad regime.
The funny part is I'm not a blind supporter of any of the parties involved, Putin, Assad, FSA, isis or the Obama adm. You're the one who seems blindly intent on giving any credit for rolling back isis to the Obama adm, even when it's obvious the Russians have been far more involved in actual operations.
You point out Obama's statements from Fall 2014, great more words. How did that work out?
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/10/world/middleeast/pentagon-program-islamic-state-syria.html
"The decision to scuttle a central piece of President Obama’s strategy for confronting extremists in Syria was made after mounting evidence that the training mission had resulted in no more than a handful of American-coached fighters. And it comes amid Russia’s forceful
entry into the Syrian conflict, a move by President Vladimir V. Putin that has highlighted the lack of progress by the United States and its coalition."
To me it's obvious, the Obama adm main goal is regime change, if a strong isis would aid in that goal the adm appears to have been content to allow it. After all who have been isis's main benefactors? Saudis, qataris, turkey all US allies?