[mikeash]

I don't think I've seen any of this whitewashing you describe. The farthest I've seen anyone go is along the lines of what I've said, that people welcome ISIS not because they're in any way good, but merely because ISIS's order is less bad than the chaos that existed before.

I think this is important to understand, because without that chaos ISIS wouldn't have had this fertile ground in which to grow. If Iraq and Syria hadn't been left to disintegrate, ISIS wouldn't have gone anywhere. Looking at the future, if and when ISIS is destroyed, it's essential to ensure that some form of order is established in these areas, or else we'll just be back at it again in a few more years.

[seivan]

From mainstream outlets I've seen everything from legitimizing ISIS as a(nother) Sunni state (the idea is a Sunni Iraq split is good though) to outright calling them freedom fighters.

It's increasing...