What are we Fighting for/with?

Who are we Fighting???


Sunni or Shiite??? many policy makers do not know. Jeff Stein, writer for the Congressional Quarterly, posed the question to some people in the government, and they came up short. They still are!!!!

From articles in the Times: here is a cheat sheet I put together, in case some one wants to play trivial pursuits about who we are fighting, who they are fighting, and the wisdom to know the difference..... ??????

Here are some of the hot ones:

Al Qaeda: Sunni (Osama bin Laden etc.)

Saudi Arabia: Sunni

Iran: Shiite

Hezbollah: Shiite

Palestine: Mostly Sunni

Sadam Hussein: Sunni

Iraq is split between Shi'a and Sunni, with the latter further divided between Sunni Arabs and Sunni Kurds; and thus that Iranian influence over at least some parts of the Shi'a population is hard to avoid, even given the fact (which they should also know) that relations between the Iraqi and Iranian Shi'a have not always been particularly smooth.

Historically, the two branches of Muslim Islam, has been summed up as follows:

The split occured immediately following the death of Mohammed, and related to who should be his successor. Shias feel that Imam Ali, cousin of the Prophet, husband of his daughter Fatima, father of Hassan and Hussein and the second person ever to embrace Islam. should have been the first caliph and that the caliphate should pass down only to direct descendants of Mohammed via Ali and Fatima. Sunnis gave their allegiance to Abu Bakr, who lead prayers in prophet's mosque in the last few days of prophet's life, as the first caliph because they felt his old age would be a wiser choice to the young Ali.

Still confused? Me too. Why did we get involved? The Sunni Qaeda bombed us. With oil we bought from Sunni Saudi Arabia!!! IRONY SUCKS!!!! Yes it does!!