Quote:
Originally Posted by CliffFletcher
Sunnis and #####es have been at each other's throats for centuries. They don't need any prompting from the West to kill each other.
I'm not excusing the West, or denying the intractable political problems the West has fostered in the Middle East. However, to me the real root of the issue is Islam's crisis coping with modernity. You don't need foreign intervention for deeply conservative and fundamentalist cultures to violently react against liberal values that threaten those conservative norms. You only have to look to fly-over country in the U.S. to see something similar.
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I wasn't downplaying the Sunni #####e conflict. I also referred to "surrounding" nations. Although I don't the modern Sunni/#####e conflict is a religious one so much as a conflict between political entities using these religions to gain influence.
Saudi Arabia has spent decades and billions of dollars spreading their extremist and fundamentalist version of Sunni Islam. Groups like ISIS and Al-Queda are the ultimate consequence of this. Iran is just as bad and responsible for Hezbollah and propping up Assad.
The West played a role too, but I agree many are exaggerating their influence.