A Failed State, A Fractured State and an Asserting State - Pangs of the Middle East

It is for certain that the social, political and economic conditions within Syria and within Iraq, have prove to be fertile sands for insurgencies by the asserting nemesis extremist group the Islamic State(IS).  Minus the prevailing circumstances in Syria and Iraq today, there would be solace. But comfort and stability are distant hopes of reality in these ancient lands.

Bashar al Assad's regime in Syria has failed as a government. The regime's war perpetrated upon the Syrian population has claimed more than 200,000 lives and displaced millions of Syrians. Atrocities committed by the regime including crimes against humanity along with the gassing to death of hundreds of children, have radicalized thousands of Syrians, other Middle Easterners and Westerners to joining the IS to fight for a perceived human good to topple Assad. Hence, the once accepted de jure government in Damascus has lost the support of many Syrians - some of whom  have now been lured to the violent de facto, IS.

Across the border in Iraq, sectarianism has fractured the de jure government and in lieu of a sound recognizable unity, many sympathizers have joined the de facto IS.

As a result of the dire shortcomings of governance and of dwindling faith and trust by the people of two separate nations, the de facto IS has been able wreck havoc upon the status quo of the Middle East. 

That the IS has been able to withstand months of air strikes by an International Coalition is testament of the depth of the dilapidated effects of poor governance in Syria and in Iraq that have continued to push thousands of young recruits to the side of the violent extremist IS.

Therefore, more waves of violence and of insurgencies and of counter-insurgencies will continue in Iraq and in Syria until unified effective governance of all the people by the people is attained. And in a mean time, a failed state and a fractured state will continue to enhance the desires of an asserting state - the Islamic State, thus underscoring the pangs of the Middle East.