Following on from their success in finally settling on a name earlier this year (to be fair ISIS was a bit comic book-villainy and ISIL is so 2013) the group known as the Islamic State have consolidated their territorial gains in northern Iraq and parts of Syria into a theocratic caliphate under their reclusive leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. … [Read more...] about Understanding the rise of ISIS: Sykes-Picot, American Imperialism and slickly-produced propaganda