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You raise an interesting point

Reader comment on item: 50 Years of Syrian Misery
in response to reader comment: Assad the Exception?

Submitted by sara (United States), Mar 10, 2013 at 18:41

Chad, of course these 'uprisings' are not all comparable in circumstance and context, but your comment raises the important phenomenon that is mirrored in western countries. I tend to look at the impact of Islamists in western countries based upon the percentage of the Muslim population (once there is over 10 percent, the cries of Islamophobia subside, and the islamist political ambitions etc come to the fore). Someone once made a very telling chart illustrating this in each country.

My comparison now extends to the makeup of each Muslim (dominated) country, i.e. the chart can be extended on the other side (with the one side being a 1 percent or less of Muslim population, to the highest). After the highest percentages are reached, it becomes useful to look at the breakdown of sects within the Muslim population. In a country where the sects are too even, more trouble within (See Lebanon, Syria, etc). So that adds a new dimension to the political Islamists. Having the Alawis, Sunni and Shia being as split as they are, insure that there will be no resolution without great military force. We cannot depend upon them to come to agreement anytime soon.

That said, in regards to your point about Assad being an exception, I think it becomes a choice between a Shia led (Iran) vs a Sunni (Muslim Brotherhood) led Syria. Neither are good choices. This proves that the secular dictators (Mubarak, Ghadaffi) were in the end the lesser evil. Unfortunately, as we have seen in Iraq and other examples, even a 30 percent non-Sunni ensures nothing. You are assuming that the US will arm and support them? What of Iran then?

The Russians are still a very important presence amongst both Islamic dictatorships and terror orgs (see recent info that AQ uses Russian technology against our drones). They are still of the impression that they are a major player on the world stage, and in fact by supporting the enemies of the US< they achieve that goal.

Submitting....

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Reader comments (17) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
1Assad the Exception? [235 words]ChadMar 10, 2013 18:10204182
2You raise an interesting point [334 words]saraMar 10, 2013 18:41204182
1Syrian people, other people [58 words]SJoshMar 10, 2013 03:04204173
1Follow the money [33 words]EthanPMar 10, 2013 20:07204173
1Anti-western dictatorships rival democracies as the most stable form of government [349 words]stuffagainMar 9, 2013 22:26204168
2The Muslim/Arab world does not know how to live in peace. [135 words]batya daganMar 9, 2013 21:56204167
1Islamic Ethics Are A Failed Paradigm [90 words]DaveMar 9, 2013 21:40204166
1some good in the Bathist regime? [16 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Barbara HoshikoMar 9, 2013 16:40204158
1Saddam & Assad friendly toward Christians [115 words]EliyahuMar 10, 2013 16:00204158
50 Years of Syrian Mysery [171 words]JudithMar 9, 2013 13:21204153
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w/response from Daniel Pipes
PezDispenserMar 9, 2013 02:23204141
1"Horror and Barbarity" [134 words]sdjamesMar 9, 2013 01:33204140
1Colonial Boundries [104 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
EthanPMar 8, 2013 16:54204130
1Assyria [20 words]JenkaMar 9, 2013 10:36204130
4language lost [203 words]mythMar 9, 2013 17:18204130
2No Simple Answers. [157 words]EthanPMar 9, 2013 21:04204130
1"Surely we have been here before .?" [74 words]UgriMar 11, 2013 01:28204130

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