The Huffington Post and the Guardian both sent me to the same website called information is beautiful for a clear picture of the Middle East relationships (here).
I am afraid that I am not very tech savvy so I just inserted a picture. It is a very interactive chart so go to the website and all will be revealed to you.
Some important points from the chart:
The only predominately Shia countries or groups are Bahrain, Iraq, Iran and Hezbollah. The rest of the predominately Muslim countries and groups are Sunni. It is clear that there is a lot more going on in the Middle East than Shia versus Sunni. There is also a lot of trouble among Sunnis.
The only allies that the United States has in the region are Iraq Kurdistan, Israel, Afghanistan and Jordan. All the other relationships are labelled strained/complicated or hate/enemies. I would point out that all of these countries get a lot of aid from us. I would also point out that not long ago, Afghanistan would have been in the strained/complicated column. For all the people that we have killed and the lives we have ruined with our wars in this region over the last decade and a half, we have not gained any real allies.
Israel has no real allies in the region, but it is not alone, neither do Al-Qaeda, Qatar, Yemen, Syrian Rebels, ISIS, Iraq and Lebanon. As a result, it is impossible to say that the enemy of my enemy is my friend or that the friend of my enemy is my enemy. The relationships are just too complicated.
Thanks for reading and please comment,
The Unabashed Liberal
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