US and allied forces conducted 16 airstrikes in Syria since Nov. 10; 10 of them near Kobane. US President Barack Obama has requested a review of policy towards Syria and may be open to the deposition of the Assad regime, according to senior officials interviewed by CNN. The Kurdish YPG is angling for self-rule in Syria in return for cooperation with Western interests against the Islamic State; Kurdish volunteer units are patrolling the Turkish border to prevent the transit of jihadists and supplies. Moderate rebels in the south of the country are the last remnants of the West’s proxy strategy after the collapse of US-backed groups in the north. The Free Syrian Army has rejected a UN-proposed truce in Aleppo; the Assad regime had expressed “positive signals” about the plan to a UN envoy on Nov. 11.
