This is total, complete, utter insanity.
Indeed.
Now Russia has reason to shoot down US aircraft showing any likelihood of dropping armaments to Russia’s active enemies. In one grand spectacular “conventional” blast, WWIII may officially commence.
It’s not like these rebels, nor the Administration supporting them, would have any means to take and wield power in the unlikely event they _did_ overthrow Assad ... and we certainly don’t want those who do have the means to fill the power vacuum.
I’ll recall again here: The USA eviscerated Saddam’s power structure in a matter of days (hours?) ... then, having no subsequent plan in place, spent the next decade+ trying to fill the ensuing power vacuum (that attempt being a tremendous sacrifice, thrown away by the current Community Organizer sympathetic to the worst of those vying for that power). We have even less plans & resources ready to stabilize a post-Assad Syria - and we can only assume that what is most likely to happen is exactly what our CiC _wants_ to happen, which is in no way what _we_ want to happen.