President Obama's decision to send in 50 Commandos to assist in the training of forces to fight Assad and ISIS, is reminiscent of 1950, when President Truman authorized sending 35 troops identified as a  Military Assistance Advisory Group Saigon or MAAGS into Vietnam.  The 35 soon escalated to 342 by 1954, and were joined by 350 more in June, 1956.  Now I'm not saying that this will occur, but Washington ought not make the same mistake. Remember, the military commanders come with special brains which prohibit thinking about decreasing the size of their command, be it 50 Commandos or 550,000 American soldiers as in Vietnam by 1966.
So the message is clear Mr. President. Do not let Putin's play, and it is a play, drag you into doing something that you have said "no" to in the past. If you are going to commit America to stopping ISIS, use President Clinton's approach to Srebenica against the Serbs. Bomb ISIS 24/7 until the barbarian threat is eliminated.

 I agree, this is not a nice solution, but ISIS has shown a total disregard for those who fail to follow its precepts and not only does ISIS disregard the norms of war, it also destroys the past, not unlike the burning of the books as done by the Chin dynasty in China and by Nazi Germany.
If Washington is going to take action, then take serious action. 

The Washington-Moscow agreement on reducing the possibility of accidental aerial combat between the two  has only one purpose: to look responsible to the public. How can American support to the rebels not conflict with Russia's support of Assad's government. Assad needs a rebel defeat, and Washington needs a regime change. The agreement was nothing but window dressing for a limited conflict between two super powers. Follow up the agreement with the recent visit of Assad to Moscow for reassurance that he will continue to rule Syria. America's hands are tied in this relationship.
Washington is supporting a rebel army including some elements sworn to destroy America against a legitimate government. This harkins back to the days when the CIA led overthrows of legitimate governments in Iran and Guatemala.
The best outcome for Washington is to accept the fact that Assad will survive due to Moscow's support which will continue since she wants to maintain access to her only Mediterranean naval base, Tartus.Instead, make an agreement with Russia to work together to destroy ISIS. Once done, Washington can try a new tactic to deal with a Russian controlled Syria. And there may be room to negotiate since Russia's control of Syria will bleed Moscow's coffers of more rubles than she can afford.

The Obama Administration needs to accept the fact that Assad will remain in power. By supporting the rebels against Assad, means that Washington is confronting Moscow directly, not simply as surrogates. An accidental shooting down of either side's planes will produce reactions far in excess of what is needed. The Donald Trumps of the world would have us prepare for war, of course his kids would be exempt, since they are too important to be fodder in combat. Others can do that. The Dick Cheney model.

Looking at history, relations between Syria  and America are slim to none. Only with the Arab Spring did Assad's dictatorship catch the eye of Washington. As civil war broke out, the Assad regime crushed the rebels' initial efforts, and continued to punish the Syrian people. Obama announced in  August, 2011, in concert with representatives from France, the United Kingdom and Germany that "for the sake of the Syrian people, the time has come for President Assad to step aside." And with that, outside of sending a limited amount of weapons and materials, the Obama administration has done nothing noteworthy. In contrast, Syria's long time ally, Moscow, has begun to openly support Assad by killing rebels, and as a balance  attacks ISIS forces. This serves as a sop to Washington, but also indicates that Russia is willing to help America destroy ISIS.

At this point, the White House should end its efforts to overthrow Assad, since that will not happen with Moscow's intrusion, and join  Russia to destroy ISIS, which is a far greater threat to world civilization. Were Washington to join forces with Moscow, other NATO countries would step up to the plate, and in the process eliminate a possible Russian-Turkish confrontation due to Moscow's flights over Turkish territory. As said before, the ball is in Obama's court, and no one seems to know how to hit it back, not even the level headed presidential candidates.

Netanyahu still beats a dead horse.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is still beating a dead horse, the Iran nuclear plan accepted by all of the Security Council countries and Germany as well as the European Union. He describes Iran as central to supplying weapons to each and every terrorist organization, including those supporting Palestinians. In this indictment, he ignores the fact that his principal and really only ally, the United States, leads the world in arms sales and cannot control the end user. Netanyahu rests much of his international influence on the holocaust, the attempted genocide of the Jewish people. While horrible, and inexcusable, the memory does not last forever in the world. No more than Stalin’s post World War II slaughter of over 20 million Russians, fearing those who had been to Western Europe would return with political ideas antithetical to Communism. No one, except those involved, remember these events, and they carry less and less weight as the years go on. Old memories do not prevent new massacres—just look at events in Africa and the Middle East. Without minimizing the significance of the holocaust, it is only a constant memory for Israelis. The slaughter of the American Indians is only a constant memory for the Indians, not for the vast majority of Americans. Netanyahu’s constant bickering and efforts to interfere with America’s foreign policy, as well as being critical of the wishes of  the principle nations in the world, has resulted in Tel Aviv becoming more isolated than ever before. Not because she is a Jewish state, but because she plays poorly with other countries.