I recommend Doug Saunders as the recipient of the Most Overwrought Column of the Year Award. It's a close call, though. His partner Elizabeth Renzetti is also in contention with her heart-wrenching  story based on the  tweets- rendered in flawless English- supposedly posted by a young waif in east Aleppo.

Now get this: according to Saunders, Islamic State is "purely a product" created by Syria's government! Never mind that Islamic State arose in Iraq, and controlled several major Iraqi cities before it expanded into Syria, it's all Assad's fault. Given that Saunders is digging deep into the last century for comparisons, perhaps he should blame the rise of the Nazi party and the Holocaust on Assad as well.

Every armed conflict is different. Different dynamics, different history, different players and different nations backing them. Syria's conflict has been terrible, no question. But anyone considering the circumstances just mentioned can understand why.