In the real world, “state building” has often started with ethnic cleansing—and we’re witnessing that process right now in the Middle East.

The Syrian Civil War spilled over into Lebanon again, as Hezbollah drove back a “major offensive” by al-Nusra fighters.

British citizens are attempting to travel to Syria to fight. The UK, like the rest of the West, can’t afford to ignore the civil war spilling across borders in the Middle East and beyond.

The fall of Mosul and Tikrit to ISIS is a wake-up call to all the states of the region: It’s time to put an end to the Syrian civil war and the sectarian mayhem it has spawned.