ISIS and Syria 101

The Syrian crisis has been brought up several times on this forum. Well, here's a list of articles I've compiled on the topic - mostly from official or reputable sources.

My primary aim is not to persuade anyone to side with a particular group in this multi-sided war. Here's hoping that some will find the resources useful in developing a more accurate and informed view of the crisis.

Syria 101: (first two articles are the most important, the rest are supplementary)

1. Great write-up on Syria (summary of events up to 2013):
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1l6qzo/eli5_the_united_states_involvement_with_syria_and/

One omission in the above post is the geopolitics of oil - Assad had refused to allow pipelines to be built between the Middle East and Europe, effectively forcing Europe to continue depending on Russian oil supplies (c.f. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qatar-Turkey_pipeline ).

2. There have been more classified documents released since that Reddit summary, including the following Pentagon document (dated 2012) - on how the USA abetted the rise of ISIS:
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jun/03/us-isis-syria-iraq

3. Leaked USA cables - Syria suggested partnering with the USA to defeat ISIS in 2010:
https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/666102543550926849

4. Declassified email from Hillary Clinton - on the role and motivations of the UK and France in fostering regime change in Libya:
(i) http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/ru/contents/articles/originals/2015/06/libya-gadhafi-french-spies-rebels-support.html
(ii) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/hillary-clinton/11616018/Britain-hid-secret-MI6-plan-to-break-up-Libya-from-US-Hillary-Clinton-told-by-confidante.html

5. USA Vice-President Joe Biden - openly admits the role of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, UAE in the equipping of Syrian terrorist groups:
https://www.rt.com/news/192880-biden-isis-us-allies/

6. USA is equipping "moderate rebels" to fight against both ISIS and Assad. Here's a list of rebel groups which the USA is officially arming:
https://hasanmustafas.wordpress.com/2015/05/08/the-moderate-rebels-a-complete-and-growing-list-of-vetted-groups-fielding-tow-missiles/

7. However, these "moderate rebels" (some whom literally eat the organs of their victims: http://mic.com/articles/42727/khalid-al-hamad-explains-why-he-ate-a-pro-assad-soldier-s-heart ) have fluid allegiances and slither easily from one group to another - including defecting to ISIS and al-Nursa (offshoot of al-Qaeda). There are many articles online elaborating on this - here's a selection:
(i) http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/10/03/there-are-no-moderate-syrian-rebels/
(ii) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Nusra_Front#cite_ref-67
(iii) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-bromwich/syria-the-times-and-myste_b_8236164.html (great final paragraph)

8. Head of the United Nations Ban Ki-Moon reprimands the West for their insistence that Assad must be deposed:
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2015/10/ban-ki-moon-condemns-the-american-stand-on-syria-endorses-putins.html

Addendum:

1. General Wesley Clark (former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO) recollects the Middle-East plan conceived by the USA in 2001:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/we-re-going-to-take-out-7-countries-in-5-years-iraq-syria-lebanon-libya-somalia-sudan-iran/5166

2. A historical list of false-flag operations in various countries:
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2015/11/the-first-question-to-ask-after-any-terror-attack-was-it-a-false-flag.html

3. 1993 UK newspaper article - "Anti-Soviet warrior on the road to peace":
https://static3.uk.businessinsider.com/image/5488307fdd08954e6f8b4638-800-/independent-1993%20(1)-1.jpeg

4. Ronald Reagan with Afghan jihadists (precursor to the Taliban) at the White House in 1983:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Reagan_meets_Afghan_Mujahideen.jpg

The main take-away is that the USA - like all major powers - tries to influence geopolitical outcomes in other countries. Part of this involves supporting favored opposition groups in foreign countries, for better or worse.

When it comes to the Middle East (apart from Israel), many opposition factions take the form of jihadist groups. The dynamics of the region is such that any credible political opposition would need to appeal to Muslims in some way, and have military capabilities to overthrow authoritarian regimes.

I have an opinion - no shortage of that, I may add...and our children would definitely agree.

Anyhow...

I just think the USA gov should stay out of these conflicts. No one wins.

My grandmother said many years ago about church life: "some people always want a fuss. They are never content unless there is one." Carnal people just are that way; there are no long term winners.

Too simple for a such a complex situation, right? Still think so.

Sandra

Martin Luther wrote: "The Turk is the rod of the wrath of the Lord our God. … If the Turk's god, the devil, is not beaten first, there is reason to fear that the Turk will not be so easy to beat. … Christian weapons and power must do it…"

The Turk or the Islamic caliphate of Luther's time:- as we watch events unfold in our life in this day we must first recognises this beast that was mortally wounded is coming back to life.

I reckon that the caliphate will be formed in a peaceful manner a coming together of Islamic nations just like the EU was formed.

Martin Luther continued: "(The fight against the Turks) must begin with repentance, and we must reform our lives, or we shall fight in vain. (The Church should) drive men to repentance by showing our great and numberless sins and our ingratitude, by which we have earned God's wrath and disfavor, so that He justly gives us into the hands of the devil and the Turk."

The fight against the Islamic beast caliphate must begin with repentance; our lives as Christians must be reformed, the church must be reformed. But let's not be under any strange illusion the catholic church is just as anti-christ as the Islam.

If Islam is the fleshy embodiment of the anti-christ; then the catholic church is spiritual form of the anti-christ. Watch and see the catholic church push stronger and stronger for the need for a coming together of world religions headed up of course by the pope....