Why did we stop fighting ISIS, and why have we suddenly started fighting them again?

We're not trying to fight ISIS. Typical of this whole assault on Syria, we are destroying Syrian infrastructure so they remain a crippled state for decades. The only reason we didn't destroy the refinery's before was because was felt that a client government (ISIS, Al Nusra Front, etc) could be put in and they would need the refineries to rebuild the society. Now that it looks as if the rebels are going to lose, we are destroying the infrastructure so Assad and his people can't use them.

This whole war was never about liberating anyone. It was always primarily about controlling Syria with a friendly regime so the Saudi's could develop an alternative route for their oil to Europe through Syria via Turkey. The second objective was to remove Russia as a presence in the middle east while further isolating Iran. The western powers couldn't care less about the Syrian people.

"Real estate mogul and 2016 GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump said he would “bomb the hell” out of oil sites he says are controlled by the Islamic State terrorist group and then get oil companies to go in and rebuild them."

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jul/9/donald-trump-id-bomb-hell-out-oil-fields/

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It's stuff like this that makes Trump a bigger threat in a general election than a lot of people wish to acknowledge. He manages to get out populist/patriotic/racist soundbites offering simplistic solutions that resonate with a certain strata of voters. It's closer than I thought and the trend is heading in the wrong direction. Democrats need to counter Trump's faux-populism NOW.

HuffPost Model Estimate

Hillary Clinton 45.9%
Donald Trump 43.7%
Undecided
CONFIDENCE OF LEAD The probability that Clinton leads Trump is 88%.

http://elections.huffingtonpost.com/pollster/2016-general-election-trump-vs-clinton

And now we're suddenly doing it again. tRump isn't espousing a new idea here. It just LOOKS new because we pretty much ignored this angle for a while.

are we going to start sanctioning countries that allow trade with ISIS? Won't that be better than bombing Syrian infrastructure that they would need to make money once Russia has finished helping em get rid of ISIS infestation?

This is why even Iraq is trying to get Russia's help with fighting ISIS. American would destroy their whole oil infrastructure if it was left to them.

but the US and UK refused.

Russia asked for Isis to be put on the terrorist sanctions list as a separate entity. However, they are still classed as part of Al Qaeda. Which is weird, because Al Qaeda is now classed as the "moderate" rebels. So something doesn't quite add up.

as if we didn't know this information 6 months ago.

So, there should be no disagreements on this strategy, from any of the warring parties.

nt