At the request of al-Assad’s government, Russia has started an air strike campaign over Syria. Moscow stated that they would target extremist groups such as ISIS, but so far the air strikes have mainly targeted NATO-supported rebels. Even though most of the mainstream media has put a negative spin on the Russian air strikes, one thing must be put into perspective: None of the external actors involved in the Syrian conflict are in it for the sake of the Syrian people, democracy or human rights. This is a geopolitical conflict, not a soap opera.