Syria: The spiral of violence continues

No surprising news from Syria; as BBC reports, the Russian involvement has in turn led to an increased level of Saudi assistance to the „Rebels“ under attack while the US has just delivered 50 tons of ammunition. Once again, interventionism from one side leading to a reaction from the other. Small wonder that a peaceful solution to the conflict in Syria is nowhere in sight. Once again: This is a proxy war between Iran/Russia and Saudi Arabia/Qatar/the US and its allies. No side is putting enough effort into the conflict to end it decisively, but enough to keep it going.
Relatedly, the New York Times has published some useful maps on the impact and locations of the Russian airstrikes.

The West’s role in the rise of the Islamic State

two powerful essays on this delicate topic; to put it in most basic terms: The US (and its allies Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Quatar) supported „moderate“ opposition groups in their quest to overthrow Assad and ultimately it turned out that many of those where not as moderate at as they had thought.

http://www.thenation.com/article/how-war-terror-created-worlds-most-powerful-terror-group/

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jun/03/us-isis-syria-iraq