I'm completely clueless on the Middle East, so sorry if what I'm about to say sounds really dumb.
1) What is the current strength/status of the surviving Baathists? Can they be easily wiped out by the ISIS, or are they already the pawns of the ISIS?
2) Does Baathism have any chance of gaining the support of the Iraqi Sunnis? Do the Sunnis in Iraq see them as failures, or do they see them as representing the "good old days"? If there ever was a backlash against the ISIS, will the Sunnis in Iraq likely turn to the Baathists?
3) In the end, how plausible is it for the US to support a Baathist Sunni state? It seems to me like the most realistic solution is for the Kurds and Shiites to contain the ISIS, hope for the ISIS to be driven out by infighting, and then establishing three states in Iraq. It also seems like the Baathists are the most likely to be able to put up a fight against the ISIS and create a stable, secular government.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/22/world/middleeast/iraq.html
Well I guess we'll see soon enough...
I'm completely clueless on the Middle East, so sorry if what I'm about to say sounds really dumb.
1) What is the current strength/status of the surviving Baathists? Can they be easily wiped out by the ISIS, or are they already the pawns of the ISIS?
2) Does Baathism have any chance of gaining the support of the Iraqi Sunnis? Do the Sunnis in Iraq see them as failures, or do they see them as representing the "good old days"? If there ever was a backlash against the ISIS, will the Sunnis in Iraq likely turn to the Baathists?
3) In the end, how plausible is it for the US to support a Baathist Sunni state? It seems to me like the most realistic solution is for the Kurds and Shiites to contain the ISIS, hope for the ISIS to be driven out by infighting, and then establishing three states in Iraq. It also seems like the Baathists are the most likely to be able to put up a fight against the ISIS and create a stable, secular government.