Recent Items on ISIS/DAESH, Assad, Iraq, and Syria

A buddy of mine brought the following articles to my attention this morning:

Washington Post, 26 April 2015: Assad’s hold on power looks shakier than ever as rebels advance in Syria

Washington Free Beacon, 30 April 2015: Obama Administration Unprepared if Assad Falls

I haven't had a chance to read them yet, but wanted to share them anyway. I'll divulge my skepticism. The Syrian Civil War has effectively been a stalemate for the last several years, and most of the analysis I've heard or seen in recent months has suggested that the only two major players are the Assad regime and ISIS/DAESH. Various moderate elements have been purported in the recent past, but these haven't tended to have much actual sway.

I also wanted to bring the following items to everyone's attention, and this is as good a way as any to share them with that aforementioned buddy, too.

War on the Rocks, 15 April 2015: PODCAST: The Islamic State’s War in Iraq and Syria

Der Spiegel, 18 April 2015: The Terror Strategist: Secret Files Reveal the Structure of Islamic State

War on the Rocks, 20 April 2015: Are Turkey and Saudi Arabia Going to War in Syria?

The Daily Beast, 21 April 2015: What Saddam Gave ISIS

Gawker Phase Zero, 22 April 2015: An Intelligence Vet Explains ISIS, Yemen, and "the Dick Cheney of Iraq"

I'll admit to bristling a bit at the suggestion that ISIS/DAESH is essentially the successor to the Iraqi Baath Party. There seems to be good evidence that former Iraqi Baath Party figures have held a lot of sway in the top echelons of ISIS/DAESH, but I question the degree to which the Iraqi Baath Party originated ISIS/DAESH. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the whole thing, but I wanted to share the articles for everyone's consideration.