but from what I saw last night on MSNBC Chris and Rachel show, they are too extreme for al qaeda.

I thought they were talking about the cell phone wallet platform. You aren't the only one. It's as hard to track/trace these groups as it is to chase the Devos/Koch/Prince/Dobson clans/families.

Seems they decided to turn their efforts on Iraq--with considerably more success.

If they're fighting the Syrian government, does that make them one of the groups that McCain wanted to arm with American weapons? Heck, were they the people he posed with in that one photo?

No, they're not one of the groups that Americans of various stripes wanted to arm. In fact, they're one of the groups that helped prevent the US from arming "moderate" groups.

At some point--perhaps a year ago, if I remember when the stories I read *at the time* appeared in the MSM--they started fighting with more secular Syrian groups. Aleppo was a flashpoint, for instance.

Soon after it became a 3-way conflict ISIS moved into Iraq as well--where it had been getting support for the fight in Syria--and renamed itself ISIL. It only started occupying territory in Iraq, IIRC, over the winter. Fallujah and Ramadi. ISIS formed for the fight in Syria. It had roots in various tribes and faction in Syria that had supported the Anbaris in their fight against the US/Shi'ite forces in Iraq, as well as in some factions in Anbar province (and points east of there) in Iraq. No Syrian conflict, no ISIS.

If people aren't familiar with it, it's because they didn't bother reading the Late Breaking News forum in DU.

They have been fighting under various names but they are one of the principle reasons why the Obama administration has been reluctant to arm the insurgents.

instead of calling it "Isis."

Originally from Iraq, ISIS (or ISIL) most recently notable for jockeying in Syria with Al Nusra for most insane rebel faction, and also probably responsible for most of the seemingly weekly car/suicide bomb carnage in Iraq.

In other words, they've been active and out there.

Sterling Archer... I should have known.

I had some memory of ISIS but not involving Iraq.
Knew it wasn't I Spy. Wasn't The man from U.N.C.L.E (had to look that up, THRUSH).
Was about to dial up Agent 99 on the shoe phone when I ran across you're post.

All three. Jeb bush all up in your house.

WHAT??????????

Danger zone!

Didn't know about them until a few weeks ago.

so a new group had to be formed so we could continue eternal war?

its short and highly informative. (i mean if you want to know about things like ISIS/boko haram/random other crises that our media kinda neglects)

maybe here at DU, maybe BBC website which I sometimes frequent, maybe I don't know where.

formed by a combination os Syrian and Iraqi insurgent groups.

added on edit:

excerpt from Sept 1, 2013 article:

Rebel military groups like the Islamic state of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have become the de-facto government, replacing President Assad's regime and often imposing new forms of repression, say many residents.

with lots of $$$ from the Saudis...

...Al Qaeda ejected them and other Syrian jihadists fought them. Accusations on the ground among the rebels that they have Assad's backing, as his forces have, according to them, been conspicuously absent from any real fighting against them.
Personally, I think if it's true, it just means he's smart enough not to get involved when two of his enemies are fighting each other.
Iraq is done; it will now be partitioned in three. Somebody remind me why we went there...

Though granted I haven't paid much attention to Iraq lately.