<font size="5"><center>IRAN V. THE SAUDIS</font size><font size="4">
Their Proxy Wars Rage in Iraq and Across the Mulsim World</font size></center>
National Review
May 7, 2007 -- SUNNI insurgency, Sunni-Shia sectarian violence, al Qaeda terror - Iraq doesn't need more problems. But it has one that too often gets overlooked: It's quickly becoming the latest battlefield in the proxy war between the Middle East's rising powers, Saudi Arabia and Iran.
The Saudis are mostly Sunni Arabs, while the Iranians are largely Shiite Persians - and each seeks to dominate the Middle East and lead the Muslim world. Their growing rivalry is a major factor not just in Iraq but also in Lebanon, the Palestinian territories and even Sudan.
* In Lebanon, Saudi Arabia backs the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. Iran backs Shia Hezbollah, which has sought to topple the democratically elected government since the end of the war with Israel last summer.
* In the Palestinian territories, both Iran and Saudi Arabia are courting Hamas. While Tehran has long supported Hamas against Israel, Riyadh cut in on Hamas' dance card in February by brokering a political agreement between Hamas and Fatah at Mecca.
* The Saudis recently stepped in to help ink a peace deal between Sudan and neighboring Chad. They won points for preserving peace within Sunni Islam - but also likely hoped to get Khartoum to stop Iran's funding of the conversion of young Sunni Sudanese to Shiism.
But Iraq is the major flashpoint. The Iranian regime seeks two basic things there: 1) An ignominious defeat for America, leading to a U.S. withdrawal - from the region, if possible; and 2) The establishment of a Shia-dominated, pro-Iran Iraqi government.
Tehran has been co-opting Shia politicians and clerics at least since the war began. Firebrand, anti-Amerian cleric Muqtada al Sadr is a good example of one who's increasingly in the Persian's pockets.
But not all Iraqi Shia are sympathetic to Iranian encroachment. There's an ethnic difference (Arab vs. Persian), too, as well as bitter memories from the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war. And many Iraqi Shia despise the aggressive brand of Shiism pitched by the Iranians.
Yet survival trumps other issues, and Tehran has made gains by providing arms, money and training to the militias that have sometimes seemed the best hope for Iraqi Shia, especially the poor, to resist attacks from Sunni insurgents and al Qaeda suicide bombers.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/0507200...__the_saudis_opedcolumnists_peter_brookes.htm
Their Proxy Wars Rage in Iraq and Across the Mulsim World</font size></center>
National Review
May 7, 2007 -- SUNNI insurgency, Sunni-Shia sectarian violence, al Qaeda terror - Iraq doesn't need more problems. But it has one that too often gets overlooked: It's quickly becoming the latest battlefield in the proxy war between the Middle East's rising powers, Saudi Arabia and Iran.
The Saudis are mostly Sunni Arabs, while the Iranians are largely Shiite Persians - and each seeks to dominate the Middle East and lead the Muslim world. Their growing rivalry is a major factor not just in Iraq but also in Lebanon, the Palestinian territories and even Sudan.
* In Lebanon, Saudi Arabia backs the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. Iran backs Shia Hezbollah, which has sought to topple the democratically elected government since the end of the war with Israel last summer.
* In the Palestinian territories, both Iran and Saudi Arabia are courting Hamas. While Tehran has long supported Hamas against Israel, Riyadh cut in on Hamas' dance card in February by brokering a political agreement between Hamas and Fatah at Mecca.
* The Saudis recently stepped in to help ink a peace deal between Sudan and neighboring Chad. They won points for preserving peace within Sunni Islam - but also likely hoped to get Khartoum to stop Iran's funding of the conversion of young Sunni Sudanese to Shiism.
But Iraq is the major flashpoint. The Iranian regime seeks two basic things there: 1) An ignominious defeat for America, leading to a U.S. withdrawal - from the region, if possible; and 2) The establishment of a Shia-dominated, pro-Iran Iraqi government.
Tehran has been co-opting Shia politicians and clerics at least since the war began. Firebrand, anti-Amerian cleric Muqtada al Sadr is a good example of one who's increasingly in the Persian's pockets.
But not all Iraqi Shia are sympathetic to Iranian encroachment. There's an ethnic difference (Arab vs. Persian), too, as well as bitter memories from the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war. And many Iraqi Shia despise the aggressive brand of Shiism pitched by the Iranians.
Yet survival trumps other issues, and Tehran has made gains by providing arms, money and training to the militias that have sometimes seemed the best hope for Iraqi Shia, especially the poor, to resist attacks from Sunni insurgents and al Qaeda suicide bombers.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/0507200...__the_saudis_opedcolumnists_peter_brookes.htm
