that they re there to fight isil. a u.s. official tells cnn, so far rebel groups have been able to thwart at least limited parts oof the russian and syrian advances. even in the face of this brutal rocket system essentially a giant flame thrower. but a top congressional democrat says the u.s. has to do more. that might mean a no-fly zone in the southern part of syria and sending a message that they send up helicopters to barrel bomb people, we re going to take those down. u.s. and nay co officials making it very clear, their assessment, the russians are still overwhelmingly striking anti-regime, anti-assad forces and maybe have only conducted a small number of attacks, if any, against isis. barbara starr, cnn, the pentagon. james gal vin is with us right here in the studio.
good morning. there you are. okay. so i want to put this all into perspective. so russia is conducting air strikes near the city of homs, which is not an isis stronghold. so what are they up to? well, the russians have been pretty up front that they want bashar al assad to stay in power. the target of the strikes is what s critical. are they going after isis? or are they going after antiregime rebels? i suspect in that area there are more anti regime rebels. although they may have struck isis to probably open up the dialogue. so our first strike was isis and then they will turn attention to the rebels. the russians want to support awe sa assad. and i they their operations are going to be that effect. the voice to the u.s. to keep
warplanes hitting targets inside syria. targets not believed to be connected to isis. this is a major development in that war-torn region which complicates things much, much further for the obama administration. let s go to our pentagon correspondent, barbara starr. barbara, what s the very latest? reporter: john, kate, what u.s. officials are telling us is where the russians struck in west central syria near the city of homs, this is an area that is not an isis stronghold. this is an area of anti-regime, anti-assad forces. the first thing is the political agenda of the russians by all accounts, according to the u.s., appears really to be to try and prop up the assad regime by striking in this area where these anti-regime militias are fighting assad s forces. this is not what the u.s. wanted to see. but let s look at the broader picture for the u.s. military, for u.s. pilots in the air over
it will not be happening. got to be. you will be. love it. just to see the melee. not looking to buy anything just. people watch. more power to you. thank you. little cup of cocoa or hot java. or whatever. nice holiday festive beverages. it s okay. good to see you. have fun with that shopping. we will be looking for you in the live shots. don t do that. a lot ahead, let s begin in egypt. i m fredricka whit field, welcome to studio 7. it is happy thanksgiving day. military leaders in egypt are apologizing for the deaths of prob pro democracy protester d . . at least 38 people have been killed in the last six days. 3,000 others have been injured. the apology was posted on the facebook page of the supreme council of the armed forces. an egyptian american journalist in cairo is accusing the military police of sexual assault. mona tweeted she was quote beating and arrested. her arms are in casts. she has been released an mona now joins me on the phone f
the city in an attempt to crush the rebelian. that could have implications. he is the number one backer of the iranian regime. on this issue and many others. president obama is issuing a statement here and there and taking no action. the u.s. ambassador s visit to last month powerfully demonstrates america s ability to affect the region. ambassador was greeted with elation by anti-regime who threw roses and waved branches. is bashar al-assad lived on bordered time and does the u.s. have a strategy for dealing with his demise. we have the panel here. bret, to you first, with all of the economic turmoil in the world, why is syria important to us? it is important for a