After the Paris ISIS attacks, I can’t help but try to understand what the heck is going on over in Syria. Perhaps you already know plenty, but in case you don’t, I felt motivated to raise the red flag, because I admire the heck out of this community and see you all as thought leaders in a much wider network of concerned citizens.

My heart goes out to the French people. Now we must respond. But how? We need to understand ISIS better. I believe they are much more than just a bunch of AK-47 toting terrorists and that, so far, our collective responses are based on ignorance, a willful denial of available information or a cynical intent to exploit instability. The best article I’ve found about ISIS is this one by Graeme Wood in The Atlantic: theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/03/what-isis-really-wants/384980/.

— Mark Nassutti