Things are threatening to spiral out of control in Syria. The civil war threatens to become a much larger all-out regional war, much like the bloody Second Congo War 1998-2003 that enveloped half of the nations of Africa.

Saudi Arabia and the Gulf nations, who have been the primary sources of arms and funding for the jihadists fighting in Syria, are very unhappy that Russia has stepped in to prop up the Assad government.
Qatar threatened to raise the stakes with direct military intervention this week.

Asked by CNN if Qatar supported the Saudi position that does not rule out a military option in Syria as a result of Russia's intervention, Foreign Minister Khalid al-Attiyah said:
“Anything that protects the Syrian people and Syria from partition, we will not spare any effort to carry it out with our Saudi and Turkish brothers, no matter what this is.
"If a military intervention will protect the Syrian people from the brutality of the regime, we will do it,” he added, according to a text in Arabic carried by Qatar's state news agency QNA.

The Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister responded by saying that they would "consider this a direct aggression ... Our response will be very harsh."
Saudi Arabia spoke equally scary words, but their words were directed at Iran.

"We wish that Iran would change its policies and stop meddling in the affairs of other countries in the region, in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen. We will make sure that we confront Iran's actions and shall use all our political, economic and military powers to defend our territory and people.”

What was Saudi Arabia referring to? Iran already has troops on the ground in both Iraq and Syria.
In fact, while Russia's adventure in Syria gets the headlines, Iran's military and financial investment in propping up the Assad The relatively poor nation of Iran has also spent $14 or $15 billion keeping the Assad regime afloat.
Iran's proxy, Hezbollah of Lebanon, has lost even more men defending the Assad regime.

What doesn't get talked about so much is the other Iranian proxy army in Syria - Iraq's Shia militias.

A report Monday in US media claims that Iran has ordered thousands of Shiite militia fighters from Iraq, known as the Hashd al-Shabi or Popular Mobilization Units, to Syria for an alleged upcoming attack on the rebel-held city of Aleppo.

Iraq's Shia militias have fought in Syria for years, but are dramatically increasing their numbers in Syria today. Some estimate an extra 2,000 fighters in the past couple weeks.

Given this enormous Iranian effort to prop up the Assad government in Syria, it is highly hypocritical of Washington to make a big deal of Russia's efforts while turning a blind eye to Iran's efforts.
Washington's response appears to be more Russophobia than anything else.
Otherwise it's very hard to explain this.

The U.S. has told Iraq’s leaders they must choose between ongoing American support in the battle against militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and asking the Russians to intervene instead. Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Tuesday that the Iraqis had promised they would not request any Russian airstrikes or support for the fight against ISIS.

Why should we oppose Russia bombing ISIS in Iraq if Baghdad wants it? There is no doubt, Baghdad wants it.

Instead, the U.S. is going in the opposite direction and is now considering a dangerous strategy that might lead to conflict with Russia.

a Pentagon report presented sobering estimates of the extensive military resources required to enforce such zones, leaving many at the table dubious about the wisdom of taking action. Russia’s own military operations in Syria raise the risk of an inadvertent clash if Americans try to block off certain parts of the country...
Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, now running for president, called this month for a no-fly zone “to try to stop the carnage.” Two weeks ago former Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates wrote an op-ed article in The Washington Post with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urging the president to rethink his opposition.

Make no mistake: a "safe zone" in Syria is just the first step towards regime change and everyone knows it. That's why neither the Assad regime, or Iran, or Russia will allow it.
Pretending this is about "protecting civilian lives" after arming jihadists for at least three years and watching a quarter of a million people die is simply political kabuki.

On the good side, ISIS has had no significant offensive since June, despite more attacks. It might be a sign that they have peaked, but only time will tell.
On the bad side, the decline of ISIS might mean nothing more than a transitional period to a larger, more dangerous war.