And he had taken advantage of the revolution and subsequent civil war in Russia to grab a vast piece of territory of the former czarist empire during the Russian-Polish War of 1919-1921. ..…

All told, at present, Islamic State is hardly gone and is again gaining strength; Russia, Assad and Iran hold all the high cards in the civil war; U.S. troops remain enmeshed in the East; and the Kurdish question has yet to be solved (and could even lead to a war with Turkey). ..…