kaz
Diamond Member
- Dec 1, 2010
- 78,025
- 22,328
The media throws out the terms Sunni and Shiite, but in their typically shallow reporting, most people are not clear how strongly this drives alliances and enemies in the region.
By far, most Muslims are Sunni. They aren’t just alternatives like Baptist and Methodist, Sunnis despise Shiites comparing them, frequently negatively, to Jews and dogs. There are only two countries which are majority Shiite, Iran and Iraq. They are different ethnically as Iran is primarily Persian and Iraq is primarily Arab.
Saddam Hussein was Sunni, which is one reason his regime was so brutal because the majority of his country was Shiite and he needed to keep them strongly suppressed to survive. Syria is the reverse. Assad is Shiite, but he’s head of a primarily Sunni country. This is why Iran is so involved in assisting Assad. Remembering the Sunni view of Shiites, it’s also clear why he’s hated so much by his people. Al Qaeda is also Sunni, again a factor why they hate him as well.
So, if Assad survives, he is clearly an ally of Iran and if he falls, a Sunni government will be his enemy. Iran is very invested in this. They are already obviously threatened by the United States. Kurds are also primarily Sunni, so while Shiites may have the most power in Iraq, their power is split with the Sunnis and Kurds. If the Shiite dominated government in Syria falls, Iran will be far more isolated.
This is why neocons like McCain want to attack Syria, they are really after Iran and if the government falls and Iran is desperate enough to get involved directly then they could have the chance to take Iran on directly.
Russia cares because since Iran’s government is so anti-west, they have extensive military, oil and economic agreements. Russia realizes how desperate Iran is to have Shiite allies and a war would work against Russia’s interest. This is why Russia is getting behind the idea to have the UN monitor Syrian chemical weapons to avert a strike. It keeps the Shiite government in place and averts a middle east war.
So while Obama is working for war, Russia is working for peace. Russia is learning that war is not good for business.
By far, most Muslims are Sunni. They aren’t just alternatives like Baptist and Methodist, Sunnis despise Shiites comparing them, frequently negatively, to Jews and dogs. There are only two countries which are majority Shiite, Iran and Iraq. They are different ethnically as Iran is primarily Persian and Iraq is primarily Arab.
Saddam Hussein was Sunni, which is one reason his regime was so brutal because the majority of his country was Shiite and he needed to keep them strongly suppressed to survive. Syria is the reverse. Assad is Shiite, but he’s head of a primarily Sunni country. This is why Iran is so involved in assisting Assad. Remembering the Sunni view of Shiites, it’s also clear why he’s hated so much by his people. Al Qaeda is also Sunni, again a factor why they hate him as well.
So, if Assad survives, he is clearly an ally of Iran and if he falls, a Sunni government will be his enemy. Iran is very invested in this. They are already obviously threatened by the United States. Kurds are also primarily Sunni, so while Shiites may have the most power in Iraq, their power is split with the Sunnis and Kurds. If the Shiite dominated government in Syria falls, Iran will be far more isolated.
This is why neocons like McCain want to attack Syria, they are really after Iran and if the government falls and Iran is desperate enough to get involved directly then they could have the chance to take Iran on directly.
Russia cares because since Iran’s government is so anti-west, they have extensive military, oil and economic agreements. Russia realizes how desperate Iran is to have Shiite allies and a war would work against Russia’s interest. This is why Russia is getting behind the idea to have the UN monitor Syrian chemical weapons to avert a strike. It keeps the Shiite government in place and averts a middle east war.
So while Obama is working for war, Russia is working for peace. Russia is learning that war is not good for business.
