by exploited » Sun Mar 22, 2015 12:08 pm
Syria and Iraq will never be complete countries again. The sooner we realize that, the sooner we can develop a reasonable policy in the area. What we can expect is a permanent terror state in the border regions of the two countries, very similar to the extremist area shared by Pakistan and Afghanistan, but without a state really capable of exercising sovereignty over it in a meaningful way. Instead it'll be a ragtag coalition of Sunni extremists that may or may not stay united under the flag of ISIS, supported by Saudi Arabia as a way to offset growing Iranian influence.