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grahamhgreen
grahamhgreen's Journal
grahamhgreen's Journal
June 26, 2014
The Sunni-Shia divide
The story of Islam's division between Sunni and Shia started with the Prophet Mohammed's death in 632.
There was a power struggle over who would succeed him in ruling the Islamic Caliphate, with most Muslims wanting to elect the next leader but some arguing that power should go by divine birthright to Mohammed's son-in-law, Ali.
That pro-Ali faction was known as the "Partisans of Ali," or "Shi'atu Ali" in Arabic, hence "Shia."
Ali's eventual ascension to the throne sparked a civil war, which he and his partisans lost.
The Shia held on to the idea that Ali was the rightful successor, and grew into an entirely separate branch of Islam.
Today about 10 to 15 percent of Muslims worldwide are Shia they are the majority group in Iran and Iraq only while most Muslims are Sunni.
"Sunni" roughly means "tradition."
Today, that religious division is again a political one as well: it's a struggle for regional influence between Shia political powers, led by Iran, versus Sunni political powers, led by Saudi Arabia.
This struggle looks an awful lot like a regional cold war, with proxy battles in Syria and elsewhere.
MAP: The Sunni - Shia Divide
The Sunni-Shia divide
The story of Islam's division between Sunni and Shia started with the Prophet Mohammed's death in 632.
There was a power struggle over who would succeed him in ruling the Islamic Caliphate, with most Muslims wanting to elect the next leader but some arguing that power should go by divine birthright to Mohammed's son-in-law, Ali.
That pro-Ali faction was known as the "Partisans of Ali," or "Shi'atu Ali" in Arabic, hence "Shia."
Ali's eventual ascension to the throne sparked a civil war, which he and his partisans lost.
The Shia held on to the idea that Ali was the rightful successor, and grew into an entirely separate branch of Islam.
Today about 10 to 15 percent of Muslims worldwide are Shia they are the majority group in Iran and Iraq only while most Muslims are Sunni.
"Sunni" roughly means "tradition."
Today, that religious division is again a political one as well: it's a struggle for regional influence between Shia political powers, led by Iran, versus Sunni political powers, led by Saudi Arabia.
This struggle looks an awful lot like a regional cold war, with proxy battles in Syria and elsewhere.
June 26, 2014
Love
June 26, 2014
Basically, the Fertile Crescent. Welcome to Babylon.
This map shows how connected the wars in Syria & Iraq have become
http://www.businessinsider.com/this-map-shows-how-connected-the-wars-in-syria-and-iraq-have-become-2014-6Basically, the Fertile Crescent. Welcome to Babylon.
June 26, 2014
It's past time we let Big Oil play in the sandbox at our expense.
Think you're gonna make a difference with air strikes?
It's past time we let Big Oil play in the sandbox at our expense.
June 25, 2014
POLL: Plurality Against US Air Strikes / Majority Against Current Plan of Action
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2014/06/poll-finds-criticism-of-obama-on-iraq-despite-agreement-on-ground-forces/
http://www.langerresearch.com/uploads/1144a40Iraq.pdf
http://www.langerresearch.com/uploads/1144a40Iraq.pdf
June 25, 2014
NO ESCALATION IN IRAQ.
1) We can not end the 1400 year old Sunni/Shia conflict
2) We are creating enemies, not making Ameirca safer
3) It will kill us in 2014
4) The majority is against it, and we are a democracy..... right?
NBC: Not Worth It: Huge Majority Regret Iraq War, Exclusive Poll Shows
A divided nation finally agrees on something overwhelmingly: the war in Iraq was simply not worth fighting.
Seventy-one percent of Americans now say that the war in Iraq wasnt worth it, a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Annenberg poll shows, with skepticism about the lengthy war effort up substantially even in the last 18 months.
Just 22 percent now believe the 2003 war effort was worthwhile.
In a January 2013 NBC/Wall Street Journal poll asking the same question, 59 percent of Americans said the war wasnt worth it, versus 35 percent who said the opposite.
Half of respondents also said that the United States does not have a responsibility to help the Iraqi government as the country descends into sectarian violence, while 43 percent said that America should intervene.
Americans are even more pessimistic about Iraq where insurgent groups now threaten to overpower the government than about the war in Afghanistan. An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll earlier this month showed that 27 percent of respondents said the Afghan conflict was worth it, versus 65 percent who disagreed. Negativity about Iraq appears to rival that of the Vietnam War; three Gallup polls conducted from 1999-2000 found that about 7 in 10 Americans believe that 1970s war was a mistake.
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/iraq-turmoil/not-worth-it-huge-majority-regret-iraq-war-exclusive-poll-n139686
Seventy-one percent of Americans now say that the war in Iraq wasnt worth it, a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Annenberg poll shows, with skepticism about the lengthy war effort up substantially even in the last 18 months.
Just 22 percent now believe the 2003 war effort was worthwhile.
In a January 2013 NBC/Wall Street Journal poll asking the same question, 59 percent of Americans said the war wasnt worth it, versus 35 percent who said the opposite.
Half of respondents also said that the United States does not have a responsibility to help the Iraqi government as the country descends into sectarian violence, while 43 percent said that America should intervene.
Americans are even more pessimistic about Iraq where insurgent groups now threaten to overpower the government than about the war in Afghanistan. An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll earlier this month showed that 27 percent of respondents said the Afghan conflict was worth it, versus 65 percent who disagreed. Negativity about Iraq appears to rival that of the Vietnam War; three Gallup polls conducted from 1999-2000 found that about 7 in 10 Americans believe that 1970s war was a mistake.
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/iraq-turmoil/not-worth-it-huge-majority-regret-iraq-war-exclusive-poll-n139686
NO ESCALATION IN IRAQ.
1) We can not end the 1400 year old Sunni/Shia conflict
2) We are creating enemies, not making Ameirca safer
3) It will kill us in 2014
4) The majority is against it, and we are a democracy..... right?
June 25, 2014
WaPo: Syrian aircraft bomb Sunni militant targets inside Iraq
Syrian government aircraft bombed Sunni militant targets inside Iraq on Tuesday, further broadening the Middle Eastern crisis a day after Israeli warplanes and rockets struck targets inside Syria.
Iraqi state media initially reported that the attacks near Iraqs western border with Syria were carried out by U.S. drones, a claim that was quickly and forcefully denied by the Pentagon.
Separately, the Pentagon said that 90 additional U.S. troops arrived in Iraq, part of up to 300 military advisers whom President Obama said last week he would deploy there to assess the situation before taking any further U.S. military action. A statement said that U.S. aircraft are now flying 30 to 35 manned and unmanned daily surveillance flights over Iraq.
The main U.S. effort Tuesday was on the diplomatic front, as Secretary of State John F. Kerry traveled to Irbil, the Kurdish regional capital, to urge leaders there to remain part of Iraq. As they met, fighters from local Sunni tribes, apparently working with militant fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), wrested control of at least part of Iraqs largest oil refinery from government troops.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/syrian-aircraft-bomb-sunni-militant-targets-inside-iraq/2014/06/24/2ea61b70-fbdc-11e3-8176-f2c941cf35f1_story.html
Iraqi state media initially reported that the attacks near Iraqs western border with Syria were carried out by U.S. drones, a claim that was quickly and forcefully denied by the Pentagon.
Separately, the Pentagon said that 90 additional U.S. troops arrived in Iraq, part of up to 300 military advisers whom President Obama said last week he would deploy there to assess the situation before taking any further U.S. military action. A statement said that U.S. aircraft are now flying 30 to 35 manned and unmanned daily surveillance flights over Iraq.
The main U.S. effort Tuesday was on the diplomatic front, as Secretary of State John F. Kerry traveled to Irbil, the Kurdish regional capital, to urge leaders there to remain part of Iraq. As they met, fighters from local Sunni tribes, apparently working with militant fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), wrested control of at least part of Iraqs largest oil refinery from government troops.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/syrian-aircraft-bomb-sunni-militant-targets-inside-iraq/2014/06/24/2ea61b70-fbdc-11e3-8176-f2c941cf35f1_story.html
June 23, 2014
http://www.theguardian.com/world/middle-east-live/2014/jun/23/iraq-crisis-isis-take-more-border-towns-live-updates
Guardian: Iraq crisis: Kerry vows 'sustained' US support for Iraqi forces
As our live blog coverage continues, here's a summary of where things stand:
The United States will provide "intense and sustained" support for Iraqi forces in their fight against insurgent militants, secretary of state John Kerry told a news conference in Baghdad. He said Iraqi forces must be armed and trained.
Kerry said Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki had committed to convening a new government on 1 July and that new leaders would be chosen shortly thereafter. Kerry and Maliki met for 100 minutes Monday.
In a CBSNews /NYTimes poll, 50% of respondents said the US had no responsibility to act on violence in Iraq, while 42% say the US did have a responsibility.
Militants held border crossings into Syria and Jordan and appeared to win the battle for the northwestern Iraqi city of Tal Afar. The Iraqi military said "hundreds" of Iraqi soldiers had been killed fighting Isis.
Before Isis militants took the border crossing into Jordan at Turaibil, Jordanian officials had said the border was under their control.
Sixty-nine detainees of the state were killed in a militant attack on an Iraqi convoy south of Baghdad, AFP reported. The circumstances of the prisoners' deaths were unclear.
The president of Iraqi Kurdistan said peshmerga fighters were in control of Kirkuk and "the time is now" for the Kurds to determine their own future.
The United States will provide "intense and sustained" support for Iraqi forces in their fight against insurgent militants, secretary of state John Kerry told a news conference in Baghdad. He said Iraqi forces must be armed and trained.
Kerry said Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki had committed to convening a new government on 1 July and that new leaders would be chosen shortly thereafter. Kerry and Maliki met for 100 minutes Monday.
In a CBSNews /NYTimes poll, 50% of respondents said the US had no responsibility to act on violence in Iraq, while 42% say the US did have a responsibility.
Militants held border crossings into Syria and Jordan and appeared to win the battle for the northwestern Iraqi city of Tal Afar. The Iraqi military said "hundreds" of Iraqi soldiers had been killed fighting Isis.
Before Isis militants took the border crossing into Jordan at Turaibil, Jordanian officials had said the border was under their control.
Sixty-nine detainees of the state were killed in a militant attack on an Iraqi convoy south of Baghdad, AFP reported. The circumstances of the prisoners' deaths were unclear.
The president of Iraqi Kurdistan said peshmerga fighters were in control of Kirkuk and "the time is now" for the Kurds to determine their own future.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/middle-east-live/2014/jun/23/iraq-crisis-isis-take-more-border-towns-live-updates
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