In it Douthat draws parallels between the multisided civil war in Syria and the more clearly defined Spanish Civil War of the late 1930s. There are some such, obviously. And he observes the obvious differences as well.
Where Douthat drops the ball is in his conclusion, he writes:
If the war in Spain was a dress rehearsal for World War II — well, the truth about Syria is that it’s probably not a rehearsal for anything. It’s the main event, and nobody can foresee when it will end.Sorry, Syria isn't the main event. It is but one theater in the Long War. Others include Yemen, Palestine, south Thailand, south Philippines, Kashmir. Afghanistan, Somalia/Kenya, Libya, Sudan, the Sahel, and the Sinai. I suppose you could include Lebanon and the Balkans, although they are (temporarily) quiet.
As for foreseeing its end, a distinguishing feature of the Long War is that nobody on our side can even imagine the genocidal carnage required to end it. It's probably best for us to think of it as "unending" as its roots go back a thousand years.
ISIS, on the other hand, appears realistic about the vast slaughter required to end the Long War, They have made genocide-for-non-Muslims an explicit goal, one we must frustrate if, as I expect, we cannot bring ourselves to embrace its reciprocal.
