Coming Soon?

Our world is not a happy place and in some parts the horror of human descent into war and conflict is all too apparent.  In this field Michael Yon has seen a great deal of it. 

His latest post from Syria, Not A Crosswalk presents us with the reality.  There is a lot to worry about.

In this context the attempts by the West to "do something" are not having much effect, let alone success.  If Zero Hedge is to be believed it has gone badly wrong and gives no cause for hope or optimism.  How and where it will end is still an open question.

There are some historians who looking at the past have seen something of a pattern when revolution or associated social and governmental collapse occurs. 

It is one that features in Yon's article.  There are many groups of young men with little education, no real future who are "surplus" and usually detached from their families.

If they are allowed to roam, given some "cause" or belief and then armed they can be a source of serious instability, violence and a breakdown in law and social order. 

If there are people who will fund them, supply the arms and offer basic logistical support then the scope for trouble or even disaster is real.

In Syria this is the case.  There are a large number of such groups very active and cannot be said to control, because such organisation or capability is beyond them.  The result is chaos and all that it implies.

Whether they are defeated or do bring about chaos or a radical change of rule in Syria is difficult to judge.  But when Syria is finished where will some or most of them be going next?