Monday, August 08, 2011

Western (Sunni Arab) Iraq is with Syrian majority

Predictably, Iraq is divided on Syria: "Along Iraq's western frontier, Syria's unrest is stoking local sympathies and security fears in a Sunni Muslim heartland where Iraqis share strong tribal loyalties with their Syrian kin."

Iraqi Sunni Arabs are with the right side this time, and the Iraqi Shia should be with them. I suspect many Iraqi Shia are with them and would like to see an end to Assad's regime.

The Arab states are clearly divided along sectarian lines with respect to Syria. It's embarrassing to see al Maliki not saying a word.

The Lebanese are also divided: "The new Lebanese government yesterday sent its foreign minister to support Bashshar's oppression and today it issued a statement supporting the statement by the Saudi King which condemned (in convoluted Wahhabi language) Syrian repression."

But: "Lebanon must denounce Syria ‘massacre:’ Hariri"

1 comment :

David All said...

It is understandable that Sunnis in western Iraq support their fellow Sunnis right across the border in eastern Syria. The current border between Syria snf Iraq is purely an artificial one drawn around 1920 by the British colonial minister, Winston Churchill and his French counterpart in dividing British-controlled Iraq from French-controlled Syria. That this divided many tribes and clans who had lived on both sides of the new border was never considered.