Can someone 'Splain to me how lil boots can back the Shia in Iraq but threaten Iran?

[xultar]

I need some help with this. It will make me feel better if I can understand the logic in that whole thing.

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Depends whether the Shia will become an obedient servant to *

and the occupying regime or the Shia will be independent to the point of hostility.

[hobbit709]

2. Logic? We don't need no stinkin logic!

You can't expect rational behavior from irrational people.

[xultar]

3. I figured as much...but I didn't want to pre judge in an uninformed state.

I figured I'd ask to be sure.

[Emit]

4. I was wondering the same in this thread the other day

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=3117417&mesg_id=3117417

[xultar]

5. Your thread is really awesome. The research you did is great.

[SammyWinstonJack]

6. Logic and the chimp should never be used in the same sentence.

[mmonk]

7. It's backing anyone who agrees to our oil and dollars demands.

[genie_weenie]

8. Iranians are Persian?

And the Mullahs discriminate against the Zoroastrians?

edit to include the Government and Mullahs are leading the discrimination and that not all Iranians are against Zarathustra.

[KharmaTrain]

9. He Got Confused With The Old Arab Saying...

...the enemy of my enemy is my friend. There's a lot of fuzzy math involved with this...the boy just plum got confused.

:rofl:

[Bucky]

10. Shia Islam is pretty diverse. It's like asking how can both MLK and Falwell be Baptists

Moqtada al-Sadr is a fundy Shi'ite, but is anti-Iranian. Ayatollah Sistani is moderate and has connections to moderate Iranian Shia, but shies away from the fundamentalists in Tehran who run the Council of Experts. Maliki is a modern, progressive Shiite, but cozies up to the Iranian regime in case he needs them in a few years when our troops are gone. Yet right now he's trying to keep the US happy while also maintaining credible autonomy of action from us, if only for PR purposes.

It's a tangled web. People are looking out for their interests and trying to tamp down the violance and lunatics, more or less regardless of what their ideologies say. Sure, Bush supports the modern, corporate-friendly Shiites, but that's because they're the only ones who'll play ball on his terms--and Bush has the biggest militia force in Iraq on his side, a great bargaining chip (if you don't mind all the dead people). The problem is that the progressive Shia need the fundy Shia to stay in power, not unlike gay friendly Republicans like Cheney and Melman need the wackos like Dobson, Reed, and Robertson to stay in power.

When the bullets start flying in a country, ideologies are reduced to being mere rallying slogans. It keeps the masses motivated, but you cut deals with whoever you have to.

[xultar]

12. Well when you through Maliki in it makes it more confusing. Because

we back him and he's Pro-Iran in a shape-shifter way.

This is nuts. CRAZY nutz.

[TahitiNut]

11. Why look for sanity or thinking from a psychopath?

He. Is. A. Psychopath.

[muriel_volestrangler]

13. Divide and conquer

If you can split your opponents up, it's easier.

[Rex]

14. Sure, he is counting on Americans being stupid sheep and not knowing

the different factions in the region and what they stand for. It has worked in the past, so why not do it again?