An Islamic Primer: Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria

Lesson #1 - Sunni vs. Shia

There is a deep fissure in Islam: the mutual hatred of these 2 groups is greater than their contempt for The Great Satan (US) or even Israel. That is why Iran (Shia) tried to assassinate the Saudi ambassador (Sunni) rather than the American or Israeli ones. The conflict lies in who inherits the religious authority from Mohammed: his religious council (Sunni) or his family and descendants (Shia). The vast majority of Muslims worldwide are Sunni, making Shia a powerful yet small minority. Yes, this is a terrible oversimplification, but it will do for a start. Unless you understand this dichotomy, you will never understand the current complexities in Syria.

Lesson #2 – Hamas and Hezbollah

Hezbollah, who is Syria's powerful proxy in Lebanon and largely controls the latter on behalf of the former, is Shia. Hamas, who controls the Gaza Strip and constantly shoots rockets into Israel from there, is Sunni.

Lesson #3 – Syria: Sunni or Shia?

This is a rather complicated question, and the source of most of Syria's civil war unrest. Bashar al-Assad, Syria's current dictator, is from a small and obscure sect: Alawite, which is nominally Shia; sadly, the country is mostly Sunni. He is frequently accused of suppressing and murdering his Sunni opponents, especially in the current civil war. Then there is the issue of a suicide bombing of a Shia splinter group that opposes Assad (perpetrated by Assad loyalists, no less), not to mention complaints that Iran (Shia) is supporting a group (Alawites) that is suppressing other Shia groups. There are also Kurds, Druze, and Christians to consider in this complicated soup.

Lesson #4 – Turkey, Iraq, Jordan

These are Syria's neighbors. Refugees are massing on Turkey's border, and she is not happy about the whole situation. Turkey, nominally Sunni but mostly secular, is supporting Syrian Sunni rebels; with the Russian-assisted shoot down of one of its military jets by Syria, she could intervene on the rebel side in a conventional war. When it comes to Iraq, there has been some recent criticisms that both W and Barack fumbled the ball: there were significant US military assets on the ground in Iraq; a half-hour's Humvee drive into Syria by a battalion or so could easily have toppled the Assad regime. As to Jordan, I must admit to having a brain fart.

Final Exam – Russia and Iran

Both of these Assad allies are shoveling rockets, gold bullion coins, seasoned insurgents, small arms, big arms, military sophistication, attack helicopters, naval battle groups, and burqas into Syria as fast as their fat little arms will go. Although the UN has declared the uprising as a legally protected civil war, Russia has vetoed Security Council resolutions to support the rebels via sanctions against an evil, oppressive dictatorship.

Question: why?

Cheat Sheet: Russia is desperate to keep the sympathetic Assad regime in place in order to protect its rights for its Black Sea Fleet (BSF) at the warm water Syrian port of Tartus, a convenient massing point to counter the US Sixth Fleet, which sticks in the old-Soviet craw.

For Iran, Syria is merely a convenient munitions dump in its eternal struggle against the evil Jew.

What Makes You Such an Expert?

Well, nothing, actually. I am neither Druze, Coptic, Christian, Jewish, or even Muslim. As a Buddhist, I do not have a horse in this race (or so goes that old saying goes). My only criticism in all this morass is the needless taking of human life.

Have a nice day.