It was the rotting Ottoman remains that the British occupied (a big eye on the oil) and started modernising (that Blairish word) after the first world war, with largely unsuccessful results that culminated in Saddam Hussein, from a pro-Nazi clan in Tikrit, a city now occupied by Isis.
"Yet, in contrast to the tacit official encouragement of more liberal voices after 9/11, any debate within Saudi Arabia over the role of its official creed in fostering the group's extremism has been timid and largely confined to social media... "The Saudi authorities have been quick to condemn Isis.
Squeezing Isis cash is an important element of the overall strategy, officials say.
Syrian people know that this crusade, this infidel and malicious coalition, is against Muslims, not Isis.
International support for Hayder al-Abadi's new government in Baghdad was probably the most important message of the event, amid hopes that it will prove less sectarian than its predecessor – and thus better able to rally alienated Sunnis to confront Isis.
"Move your America hating ass to Iraq, let ISIS rape you then cut your cunt head off, fucking media whore muslim," wrote a rather unassuming-looking mom named Donna.
He was probably relaxing in some luxurious dwelling beside a cosy open fire, wondering how he could further enrage Isis, while we all stood in the widdling rain.
His early role in what would become Isis led naturally to the senior position he now occupies within a revitalised insurgency that has spilled across the border into Syria.
The brutality of Isis is increasingly at odds with his own views, which have mellowed with age as he has come to believe that the teachings of the Qur'an can be interpreted and not read literally.
Parts of both cities have become a no-go zone for Iraq's beleaguered troops, who have been battered and humiliated by Isis, a group of marauders unparalleled in Mesopotamia since the time of the Mongols.
While we bomb Isis, Assad spares it and prefers to barrel-bomb Syrian civilians in the pockets of territory still controlled by the rebels fighting his rule.
