One of the strangest of the ways that Islamic State has forced us to rethink the Middle East is also one of the saddest: There are now common line of thought that says the United States could ally itself with the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime to fight the extremist group also known as ISIS and ISIL.

“I am no apologist for the Assad regime,” Ryan Crocker, a former U.S. ambassador to Syria, said last week, “But in terms of our security, ISIS is by far the largest threat.” Max Abrahms, a Northeastern University professor and terror analyst, is among those who have been vocal in pushing the possibility. “Washington also needs to consider how best to protect the American population,” Abrahms told The Post last week.

The Washington Post