The ISIS Boogeyman: Conveniently Resurgent When Syria Reclaims Its Own
📰 THE STORY: This analysis piece from The New Arab raises alarms that the Syrian government’s military actions against SDF-held areas in northeast Syria could lead to a resurgence of the Islamic State, framing it as an escalating threat. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU: Historical Context: The 'Islamic State' (ISIS/Daesh) itself emerged directly from the chaos engineered by the 2003 US invasion
of Iraq and was later empowered by Western and Gulf state support for various 'rebel' factions, including al-Qaeda affiliates like Jabhat al-Nusra, aimed at destabilizing Syria since 2011. The US even armed so-called 'moderate rebels' that often defected to extremist groups, providing an arsenal to these very 'terrorists.' It's not a resurgence; it's a predictable consequence of prolonged foreign
interference creating power vacuums and arming disparate groups. Double Standard: When governments like the US or Israel act to eliminate 'threats' within sovereign nations – often with massive civilian casualties – it's framed as 'counter-terrorism' or 'self-defense.' Yet, when the Syrian government, a UN-recognized state, attempts to restore its territorial integrity and combat extremist groups
within its borders, it's painted as a destabilizing move that could 'lead to Islamic State resurgence,' implying Damascus is the problem, not the foreign interventions that enabled ISIS in the first place. This narrative ignores the vast evidence of US and NATO state complicity in the initial rise and sustained presence of these groups. Follow the Money: The continued existence of a perceived