Middle East Fantasies
This is an excerpt. The full article can be accessed by clicking the link above.
Another irony: if President Obama’s ponderous deliberations lead to a decision to support the Iraqi government, we will be allied with Iran, our enemy since their revolution of 1979. Iran has been the main beneficiary of our involvement in Iraq; former foe Saddam Hussein was replaced with a friendly Shi’a government. The Iranian government is loath to see any part of Iraq or Syria ceded to ISIS, although that may be a fait accompli (so too may be a Kurd state in northern Iraq). Current conflict could bloom into a full scale Sunni-Shi’a war that engulfs Syria, Iraq, and Iran, with Sunni Turkey and Saudi Arabia providing their coreligionists arms, funding, and troops. It is an open question how much farther this could spread and who else might be drawn in. World War III is not out of the question.
Another irony: if President Obama’s ponderous deliberations lead to a decision to support the Iraqi government, we will be allied with Iran, our enemy since their revolution of 1979. Iran has been the main beneficiary of our involvement in Iraq; former foe Saddam Hussein was replaced with a friendly Shi’a government. The Iranian government is loath to see any part of Iraq or Syria ceded to ISIS, although that may be a fait accompli (so too may be a Kurd state in northern Iraq). Current conflict could bloom into a full scale Sunni-Shi’a war that engulfs Syria, Iraq, and Iran, with Sunni Turkey and Saudi Arabia providing their coreligionists arms, funding, and troops. It is an open question how much farther this could spread and who else might be drawn in. World War III is not out of the question.
I am not sure about the absence of weapons of mass destruction, Saddam did use poison gas against his enemies. Such weapons could have been or were quickly sent to Syria to avoid detection. They have been use in Syria recently but cynics can say it was US supplies to supposed Sunni allies rather than dictator Assad who is a baddie to be sure but not necessarily the worst in the area.
The usual foreign policy of the US/Russia is to ally with the side opposite to whoever Russia/US supports. I agree, I cannot see any merit in this. Best to stay out of it. Can it be that current policy provides continuing training for armed forces, or work for the 'defense' industry?