[neutrino]

What? How can anybody be on FR and be so totally uninformed?

How so? Iran is primarily shiite, just as I said. Iran doesn't seem to be our friend, just as I said.

Now I'm well aware that the sunnis are (apparently) the nexus of the insurgency within Iraq, but that doesn't mean that the shiites are our friends. Might I add that Saudi Arabia is fundamentally sunni? Yes, they follow the wahabbist viewpoint - but recall that wahabbism is merely an extreme variation of the sunni position.

Furthermore, if you take a look at Saudi Arabia, you might note that the shiites are a rather unhappy - and, arguably, suppressed - minority within the kingdom. And now, as the shiites across the border in Iraq gain ascendancy, it is entirely possible that Saudi Arabia will be destabilized.

Have you considered the implications of a shiite government in Iraq? Have you looked at the history of relations between Saudi Arabia and its substantial shia minority? Have you considered what instability in Saudi Arabia implies for global oil supplies? Are you aware that the sunnis regard shiites as near-infidels, thus guaranteeing more conflict as the sides realign?

So, tell me, please, what I'm uninformed about.

[McGavin999]

The Shiia in Iraq are diametrically opposed to Iranian mullahs. The most estimed cleric in Iraq, Ayatollah Sistani believes that clerics must remain outside of politics. Najef (Iraq) and Qom (Iran) are the two differeing schools of thought in the Shiia religion. There is a centuries old fight between the two cities to be the basis for Shiia thought. Only a very small few Iraqi Shiia are influenced by Iran, the rest hate them with a passion. During the 8 year long war between Iraq and Iran the Iraqi Shiia were some of the fiercest fighters.

The Shiia are NOT a monolithic block. Don't confuse the good guys with the bad guys. Sistani has been holding the lid on a civil war since we got there. He has preached patience and tolerance. Just this week he put out an edict forbidding any politican from using a cleric's name in their campaigns or pretending they have a cleric's backing. He wants clerics OUT of politics.

Sadar is Shiia, but he is a minor cleric with no respect in the greater Shiia community. He never even completed his schooling and is looked down on my most Shiia as an unschooled child. He's trading on his father's reputation, and only has support among the criminals. Most of the poor have already figured out he's not what they thought.

[Alter Kaker]

Now I'm well aware that the sunnis are (apparently) the nexus of the insurgency within Iraq, but that doesn't mean that the shiites are our friends

Yes it does. Shiites and Americans share a common goal of seeing a stable democracy established in Iraq. Will they ally with America forever? Probably not. But against Al Qaeda and the insurgents? Absolutely. Moreover, even if the Shiites were diametrically opposed to mere the existence of the United States -- which they're not -- the idea of rooting for the tragic deaths of 841+ civilians -- men, women and children -- is morally reprehensible.