Hey another question - Is the majority of the army the Assad/Baath regime Sunni? Officers mainly Alawi? Are not the majority of the citizens of the current rump Syria (Latakiya to Damascus) still more Sunni than Alawi? Just wondering.
Great analysis. Excellent comments. Well informed readers. Lets not forget that the center of Shi'a world was for 1000+ years in Karbala and Najaf. Not Qum. Sadr is an Arab. Iraqi. and the legitimate spiritual leader of the global Shi'a hierarchy. Not Khomaini, Khamaini or any other Persian.
Remember when Bush 41 denied Israel the loan guarantees for 10 billion that were to be used to expand settlements in the West Bank. He later admitted that decision was the single most significant aspect to his defeat in the 1992 election against Bill Clinton.
The key in 2006 and remains today - the Sunni Tribes. And the promised willingness of the Shia to truly share power. Such outcome did not occur while US withdrew and afterward (2009-2014). Much depends on decisions taken in Tehran and Riyadh (and Washington).
DO THE QATAR ROYALS TRULY BELIEVE THEY WILL BE KEPT AROUND BY THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD AND THE SALAFISTS AFTER THEY SEIZE POWER IN THE REGION? SEEMS A TRULY SELF DECEIVING APPROACH THAT WILL END IN THEIR (AL THANI) OWN DESTRUCTION. earlier today I attended a lunch with the Ambassador of Iraq who warned raqi experience with the Salafis and Al Qaida is these elements have no flexibility or room for compromise, hey are all or nothing in their beliefs, and thus cannot form any kind of coalition or lead any diverse society. Sheikh Tamim is making a Devils Deal if he truly believes his monarchy will survive the Salafis he is supporting. They will Not return the favor; rather they will ensure Sheikh Tamim is relegated to the dust bin of history. How does his father and Uncle make such misguided judgments is a bigger mystery.
Sunni and Shia have been in (sometimes violent) conflict for almost 1400 years. Fighting slowed when outsider imposed authority (Brits, French, Ottomans...)offering a common foreign enemy to temporarily overcome local squabbles for a greater cause. One anticipates much more of this conflict to manifest in violence given the virtual vacuum of (popularly accepted) authority throughout the region.
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Hey another question - Is the majority of the army the Assad/Baath regime Sunni? Officers mainly Alawi? Are not the majority of the citizens of the current rump Syria (Latakiya to Damascus) still more Sunni than Alawi? Just wondering.
Great analysis. Excellent comments. Well informed readers. Lets not forget that the center of Shi'a world was for 1000+ years in Karbala and Najaf. Not Qum. Sadr is an Arab. Iraqi. and the legitimate spiritual leader of the global Shi'a hierarchy. Not Khomaini, Khamaini or any other Persian.
Remember when Bush 41 denied Israel the loan guarantees for 10 billion that were to be used to expand settlements in the West Bank. He later admitted that decision was the single most significant aspect to his defeat in the 1992 election against Bill Clinton.
The key in 2006 and remains today - the Sunni Tribes. And the promised willingness of the Shia to truly share power. Such outcome did not occur while US withdrew and afterward (2009-2014). Much depends on decisions taken in Tehran and Riyadh (and Washington).
DO THE QATAR ROYALS TRULY BELIEVE THEY WILL BE KEPT AROUND BY THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD AND THE SALAFISTS AFTER THEY SEIZE POWER IN THE REGION? SEEMS A TRULY SELF DECEIVING APPROACH THAT WILL END IN THEIR (AL THANI) OWN DESTRUCTION. earlier today I attended a lunch with the Ambassador of Iraq who warned raqi experience with the Salafis and Al Qaida is these elements have no flexibility or room for compromise, hey are all or nothing in their beliefs, and thus cannot form any kind of coalition or lead any diverse society. Sheikh Tamim is making a Devils Deal if he truly believes his monarchy will survive the Salafis he is supporting. They will Not return the favor; rather they will ensure Sheikh Tamim is relegated to the dust bin of history. How does his father and Uncle make such misguided judgments is a bigger mystery.
Sunni and Shia have been in (sometimes violent) conflict for almost 1400 years. Fighting slowed when outsider imposed authority (Brits, French, Ottomans...)offering a common foreign enemy to temporarily overcome local squabbles for a greater cause. One anticipates much more of this conflict to manifest in violence given the virtual vacuum of (popularly accepted) authority throughout the region.