Sunnis - Shiite demographics in the Middle East. Gulf Blog
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Bloomberg: Iran’s Shadow Over Yemen Unites Sunni States Behind Bombing
As Iran seeks an end to its isolation, the conflict in Yemen is uniting opponents in the Middle East behind what they see as a renewed threat from the country.
Only six weeks ago, Egypt and Qatar were barely speaking to each other after Egypt’s ambassador to the Arab League accused Qatar of supporting terrorism and the Gulf state withdrew its ambassador from Cairo. Today, the two countries, as well as other predominantly Sunni Muslim nations with competing interests, have joined or backed a Saudi-led offensive against Shiite rebels in Yemen who they view as Iranian proxies.
The show of unity is rare in a Middle East where four years of coups, protests and shifting borders have served to deepen divisions rather than dismantle them. The conversion of interests by countries including Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan was brought about by fear of the perceived expansion of Iranian influence in the region, according to Shadi Hamid, a fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington.
WNU Editor: For the moment the answer is yes .... Yemen's civil war and the rise of Shiite Iran has united the Arab Sunni states. But is this unity sustainable .... it all depends on what happens in Yemen, in Syria's civil war, in Iraq, and what will eventually come out of Iran's nuclear program.
1 comment:
WNU Editor,
Patrick Bazahd, via Col. Pat Lang say's "nope",
http://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/2015/04/the-saudi-intervention-in-yemen-from-decisive-storm-to-looking-into-the-abyss.html#more
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