About ISIS and the Middle East

A Google search on, “what caused the rise of ISIS,” produced 1.5 million hits on April 8, 2015.  Lots of information, opinion, and political propaganda.  Books and articles abound.

During what may turn out to be the runup to a Sunni-Shia sectarian war where Syria and ISIS have been the catalysts, this post provides salient facts, a reference, plus new information for those wanting to know what is really up out there.

If you are of the politically correct / revisionist history crowd, prepare to be offended.

There are six parts:

About ISIS and the Middle East – Part 3

Of Sunni – Shia

Overview

The two main things occurring now in the Middle East are, 1) a boiling Sunni v. Shiite (Saudi Arabia v. Iran) situation presently focused in Syria; and 2) expanding aggression by ISIS, al Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Saudi Arabia v. Iran situation, if not checked somehow, will lead to a prolonged sectarian war across the region.  And, practically speaking, there is little the US by itself can do about it.

Terrorist organizations will likely be checked by each country individually for the time being, but

About ISIS and the Middle East – Part 4

Middle East Foundations

Understanding the ISIS situation must begin with understanding Middle East foundations.

Geographically, the region lies in between Africa and Asia. The “Levant” refers to Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Cyprus and parts of Turkey.

While there are differences in this regard among Middle East countries, the majority religion is Islam