For more than three years, the US resisted any kind of military intervention in Syria, opting instead to support opposition groups in the uprising against President Bashar al Assad.
But the emergence of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant saw a reversal in policy, as the group seized large parts of Syria and Iraq.
The US president summoned a “coalition of the willing” to carry out air strikes, contending that ISIL posed a significant global threat and branding it a 'network of death'.
And while military officials say the air campaign has stalled offensives in some areas, ISIL appears to be growing stronger in others.
Kurdish Peshmerga forces on the ground have also told Al-Jazeera they are critical of the strategy behind the air strikes, and say they are not getting the support they need.
So more than three months into the joint military operation what is going wrong?
Presenter: Mike Hanna
Guests
James Denselow - research associate at the Foreign Policy Centre think-tank.
Ilter Turan - professor of political science at Istanbul Bilgi University.
Elias Hanna - military and security analyst and retired Lebanese Army General.
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