Will the Syrian Civil War create another ISIS?

There are unintended consequences, and then there are unintended consequences. What we are seeing in Syria, as Aleppo and Hama fall (and Homs braces itself) to a coalition of anti-regime forces whose DNA is to be found in al-Qaeda et al, is an unintended consequence of Israel’s bombardment in Syria of Iran-funded pro-Assad groups, and the pulverising of Hezbollah in Lebanon. An unintended consequence of the weakening of Iran and its Axis of Resistance. For the three pillars on which Bashar al-Assad props up (for the time being) his murderous kleptocratic narco-state – Iran, Hezbollah and Russia – are, respectively, on their ‘best’ behaviour in the hope of talks with the US, broken, or extremely distracted.  

It is no coincidence that the assault on Aleppo begun at the same time as Hezbollah and Israel were finalising their highly fragile ceasefire. Those stunning (short-term) Israeli successes in Lebanon seem to have led to potentially stunning (long-term) reverses for the region in the shape of the resurrection of Sunni fundamentalism and a blood-soaked sectarian conflict (Christian Syrians are fleeing from the rebels as fast as they can).