“cannot afford to alienate virtually all of the Sunni Muslim world”
Can anyone explain why we treasure the Sunnis, and hate the Shiites? Other than some theological points that only matter to them, I see no difference.
And is this how the nation state concept works? That at any given time, the Sunnis get to arrange all the countries in the Middle east to suit them?
Odd
The vast majority of Muslims are Sunni, but that does not explain why we have had a close relationship with many Sunnis nations. I think the main reason we have tried hard to work with, for example, Saudi Arabia, is the obvious reason - oil.
I would guess because 90% of “The Religion of Pieces” is of the sunni flavor. Just a guess though. Also, soetoro was raised a sunni and never renounced it.
Actually the borders of the middle east were drawn by France and Britain to ensure that there were no real nations. They didn’t want the populations united against them. Trying to maintain those fictional groupings is a fool’s errand.
We have had many opportunities to come to terms with the Iranians over the years. The State Department will never do it though because the Iranians seized our embassy. They'll make peace with people who bomb American planes and kill American civilians, and they'll make peace with people who have killed American soldiers and sailors, but the State Department will never make peace with Iran.