Reply #19: Foreign invaders and colonialists have ALWAYS exploited divisions.

[TahitiNut]

The Middle East was never delineated into politically (demographically) homogeneous 'nations,' the result of a politically evolutionary process over time as elsewhere. The very boundaries and regimes that exist in the Middle East were largely defined with the primary purpose of entrenching colonialism. Whether we're looking at the Ottoman Empire or the British Empire, the establishment of Royal Families and national boundaries served the interests of foreign rule. Iraq is a good example, with the ethnic Kurds from an eradicated Kurdistan, a Shiite plurality, and a Sunni ruling elite.