Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey say that the US is still considering the possibility of establishing a “no-fly zone” over northeastern Syria to deny the Syrian military the ability to launch airstrikes against the rebels therein.

The idea is particularly puzzling in the northeast, since the US and its allies have been bombing ISIS targets in the exact same region. Since the US air war began, the Assad military has shifted its focus to the northwest, where other rebel factions are, allowing the US to do its dirty work for them.

Gen. Dempsey also said that they are considering the Turkish proposal for a “buffer zone” carved out of northern Syria to house refugees. Turkey has sought the zone as a way to get rid of the 1.3 million refugees they’ve been saddled with, while waiting for some regime change to happen in Syria.

That such schemes are even under consideration suggests that the Obama Administration haven’t given up on the idea of expanding their new ISIS war to include Syria’s government as well, even though they’re fighting ISIS as well.