Saudi Arabia’s offer to send troops to fight the Islamic State in Syria has already triggered an array of skepticism, speculation and uncertainty. With one of the Arab world’s most powerful militaries, the Saudis are poised to unleash a potentially volatile—and unpredictable—new element into a chaotic civil war that has already upended competing agendas and shifted alliances.

Yet it’s unclear whether the oil rich kingdom will actually follow through on its plan, or how its forces would fare should it do so. The machinations behind Saudi Arabia’s interest in a Syrian offensive remain murky to most. Here are five questions that may add a little clarity.

Why Is Saudi Arabia Stepping Up Now?

The White House has spent months publicly chiding Gulf nations to do more in the fight against the Islamic State. But unlike for the U.S., defeating ISIS in Syria has never been a top priority for Saudi Arabia. The kingdom and its Arab allies, including Turkey, are more concerned with toppling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, an ally and patron of Iran, Riyadh’s arch-rival. They have given millions in arms and aid to rebel groups battling the Tehran-backed Assad regime.

However, Russia’s escalating air campaign in support of the Syrian government has diminished these rebel forces and could keep Assad in power. Analysts believe these setbacks are drawing the Saudis deeper into Syria’s civil war. “The Saudis know what their goal is,” Stephen Kinzer, a senior fellow at Brown University’s Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs, told U.S. News & World Report. “They want to overthrow Assad. Period.”

But Will Saudi Arabia Actually Send Send Troops Into Syria?

Whether tough talk by Saudi Arabia and its Arab partners will turn into action remains to be seen. Publicly, the kingdom has hinted that a military intervention may be imminent. Turkey’s foreign minister said on Saturday that Ankara and Riyadh had begun gearing up for a potential ground invasion. In a bold display, the Saudis also launched a massive military drill involving armed forces from 20 nations over the weekend. Yet some experts believe the maneuvers may be little more than posturing. To boot, officials in Riyadh have already started to roll back some of the rhetoric. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said Sunday that the decision to send ground forces into Syria would only happen if the U.S.-led coalition against ISIS signed off on it. “The timing is not up to us,” al-Jubeir said.

If So, Does It Have The Military Capability To Be Effective?

Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies remain bogged down in a costly and chaotic war in Yemen, which some intelligence officials and foreign policy experts believe will keep them from any meaningful military action in Syria. Additionally, Saudi ground troops remain a largely untested force on battlefield. “I certainly appreciate and value the Saudi willingness to engage on the ground [in Syria], [but] I think that would be a challenge for them if they try to take that on,” James Clapper, the U.S. director of national intelligence, told Congress last week.

But others believe that Saudi special forces could be effective operating within a broad-based military coalition. “With the right support and commitment from its partners, the deficiency in the lack of expeditionary training of its land forces would be overcome from vital support it would receive,” Omar Mohamed, a military expert based in Bahrain, told Vocativ.

If Assad Is The Priority For Saudi Arabia, Why Fight ISIS?

Doing so could achieve several military and political objectives for the Saudis, analysts say. First, it bolsters the kingdom’s growing assertiveness in the region since King Salman ascended the throne last year. It also provides Saudi Arabia with a chance to demonstrate a leadership role among the U.S.-led coalition. Others, still, see the ground deployment against ISIS as a way to increase pressure on Washington. “Saudi Arabia is not offering its troops to fight ISIS because it has reassessed its priorities,” said Alexander Decina, a research associate at the Council For Foreign Relations. “Instead, by offering to contribute troops, Riyadh and its partners hope to make it more palatable for Washington to deepen its own involvement in Syria.”

Could Saudi Forces Ultimately Square Off Against Assad Forces Or Iranian Militias?

Many believe an open confrontation between Assad-backed fighters and Saudi forces would escalate Syria’s civil war and potentially trigger greater instability across the region. Nawaf Obaid, a former advisor to Saudi Prince Turki al Faisal, said that a fight against ISIS would likely lead to a greater Saudi military presence in Syria. “It’s clear that the kingdom-led multinational coalition will not stop at ISIS,” said Obaid, who is now a visiting fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. “Rather, its ultimate objective in Syria is to take on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the Iran-created Shia militias, which are the source of as much, if not more, regional terror than ISIS and Al Qaeda.”

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