What Does it Mean to be an Ally?

The State if Iraq in Syria (ISIS) is a nasty outfit, and if you don't believe me, ask Bashar al-Assad and Ayman al-Zawahiri. Assad has made himself as infamous as his father by defending his right to gas his own people; Zawahiri is the current head of al-Qaeda, an organization not known for its squeamishness in the face of violence. These men have condemned both the methods and the bloody objectives of ISIS, and, along with the government of Iran, has agreed to share intelligence and personnel in the effort to kick ISIS out of Iraq.

All of these people, as well as the state of Israel and the government of the United States, are banding together to defend the map, as it is constructed below. The status quo, with all of its economic and political implications, reflects a secret process of map drawing conducted by French and English diplomats in the first years of the 20th century. That is still exists is a testament to the extraordinary quantities of blood and treasure governments have been willing to expend in its defense.

http://www.oilempire.us/new-map.html

What ISIS wants to do is erase all these lines and consolidate the entire region under one, repressive Islamic state based on its blatant misreading of the Koran and in conflict with most modes of fundamental morality. ISIS is mean and ought to be eradicated.

stratfor.com

On one level, therefore, it is not at all surprising that so many states would get together to eliminate ISIS. These entities have been at war themselves, however, in nasty ways of their own. For Iran and the US to acknowledge publicly that they are sharing information, therefore, is stunning. It goes to show that we may have more in common that is often recognized.