What's behind US bombs in the Middle East

I've been trying to figure out precisely why the Obama administration eventually agreed to launch air strikes against ISIL in Syria and Iraq.  It was obvious the administration was in disarray over what to do, and I found it hard to believe it had come up with the idea of a limited air campaign on its own (particularly since incompetent foreign policy seems to be a hallmark of the past few years).

Now Zero Hedge suggests that it was partly at the behest of Saudi Arabia, and partly an attempt to destabilize the oil market, thereby also striking a blow at Russia and President Putin.  There are two relevant articles:

A Look Inside The Secret Deal With Saudi Arabia

That Unleashed The Syrian Bombing

Why Oil Is Plunging: The Other Part

Of The "Secret Deal" Between The US And Saudi Arabia

Both make very interesting reading, and explain what's probably behind current events rather better than any other sources I've found (a number of which allude to the same background, but in more convoluted and less clear terms).  Recommended reading for those following current geopolitical trends.

(The other side of the coin is, of course, what's going to happen if the air strikes don't succeed, but the oil markets are still destabilized.  That would have all sorts of implications for OPEC and the oil-producing regions of the world . . .  And what happens if ISIL takes Baghdad, and turns its self-proclaimed Caliphate into an actual reality?)

Peter