Posted this back in 2015: http://ipokeyouwithapencilthatissharp.blogspot.sg/2015/10/international-news.html
The video I posted back then has just been updated with this latest version following the missiles launched by the US to attack the Assad regime. I think this video explains really well what exactly is going on in Syria and why it's such a messy, difficult to resolve conflict. It reminds me very much of the cold war proxy wars between US and the Soviet Union.
When people here in Singapore mention Syria, I always hear it in terms of the ISIS threat. In reality though, ISIS is but just one of the many players and they aren't even the biggest factor. ISIS survives in large because of how chaotic the situation is in Syria.
I think one thing to really keep a watch out for in the coming weeks, months and years are US-Russian relations. Things are brewing and while in this day and age it is unlikely for powerful countries like them to want to engage in open warfare, it has great potential to cause disruption to the rest of the world in other ways.
---