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What role should Geohistorical and Geopolitical Science play in Miltary Foreign Action. After reading this article, what difference if any may have resulted from our actions in the Middle East, if this data had first been understood and taken into account during action planning?
Medieval Times in the Modern Middle East
Posted from mauldineconomics.comPosted in these groups: 
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Foreign Affairs
Foreign Cultures
Foreign Forces
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Foreign Policy Foreign Affairs Foreign Cultures Foreign Forces Military Intelligence
Posted >1 y ago
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Erin Nelson, this is a interesting perspective:
Nationalism Replaced by Sectarianism
Identities based solely on sectarianism now stand in the place of nationalism. On one side are the Sunnis, led nominally by Saudi Arabia. On the other are the Shiites, led nominally by Iran. The Sunni bloc is in disrepair; the Shiite bloc is on the rise. The fact that Iran is Persian has in the past dissuaded Arab Shiites from siding with Tehran, but Saudi efforts to prevent the Shiite revival (not to mention the rise of the Islamic State) have left them feeling vulnerable. They are willing to set aside their differences for sectarian solidarity.
Nationalism Replaced by Sectarianism
Identities based solely on sectarianism now stand in the place of nationalism. On one side are the Sunnis, led nominally by Saudi Arabia. On the other are the Shiites, led nominally by Iran. The Sunni bloc is in disrepair; the Shiite bloc is on the rise. The fact that Iran is Persian has in the past dissuaded Arab Shiites from siding with Tehran, but Saudi efforts to prevent the Shiite revival (not to mention the rise of the Islamic State) have left them feeling vulnerable. They are willing to set aside their differences for sectarian solidarity.
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Col Rebecca Lorraine I believe if information such as this in combination with https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nQaXFCfvRP9sLXcZFjShzWnVpLLRshflZCVcrrq2boE/edit?usp=drivesdk being the article you responded to (And very eloquently I might add) are taken into account in our actions against extremism, we will achieve a much higher degree and longer lasting success. We are already carrying the expense of the action, and we are already working with people of these nations in repatterning the government, if then part of our actions is establishing protocols within their own governments to recognize and address the issue of confidence and resource, thereby eliminating the environments of ready recruitment, with UN and other allie support in that failure to take steps in this direction would then be to loose the support, aid, defense and reconstruction efforts being provided them. After all if they do not internally address the issue then it shall never be overcome and our efforts may serve to exacerbate rather than eliminate as is our mission and our goal. COL Mikel J. Burroughs,CPT (Join to see),Col (Join to see),SGT (Join to see),SGT (Join to see),SGT (Join to see),COL (Join to see)
Socioeconomic Challenges -A Global Perspective Evaluating Invisible Connections-Resolutioning A...
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Erin Nelson Thanks for sharing the article! Here is my 2 cents - okay maybe a dollar's worth - the Middle East and the all the different tribes and Sectarian Groups have been battling for centuries and there is long history that is ingrained in these different factions that is not easily understood by many in this country. The Sunnis under Saddam ran shotgun over the Shiites when he was in power and then we come along and upset the apple cart and the Shiites are paying them back and then you have the Kurds in the North and the Iranian Shiites in the South and then all the tribes within - it is like trying to put pieces of a jigsaw puzzle together that don't fit. I don't know if we will ever solve the issues and divides in the Middle East during my lifetime or even my children's lifetime. If we go back in history who really upset the Middle East in the first place and how many times has this region been invaded by outside foreign governments throughout history. We are lucky in the United States that we haven't been invaded or persecuted over several thousand of years!
Politics, competition, influence and power fuel the current sectarian tensions between Shia and Sunni Muslims, the two main branches of Islam. The root of the hostility is a political question in itself: who is the legitimate successor to the Prophet Muhammed?
Both sects share common religious beliefs: the five pillars of Islam, the Quran and Prophet Muhammed being the last messenger of God. The differences lie mostly in the Shia and Sunni interpretation of the hadiths and sharia law on how Muslims should define and govern themselves. But for the most part, the religious differences are superficial. The conflict and violence is more about political power, where geo-politics intertwines with theology.
In the 1st century BC, the expanding Roman Republic absorbed the whole Eastern Mediterranean, which included much of the Near East. The Eastern Roman Empire, today commonly known as the Byzantine Empire, ruling from the Balkans to the Euphrates, became increasingly defined by and dogmatic about Christianity, gradually creating religious rifts between the doctrines dictated by the establishment in Constantinople and believers in many parts of the Middle East. From the 3rd up to the course of the 7th century AD, the entire Middle East was dominated by the Byzantines and Sassanid Persia. From the 7th century, a new power was rising in the Middle East, that of Islam. The dominance of the Arabs came to a sudden end in the mid-11th century with the arrival of the Seljuq Turks. In the early 13th century, a new wave of invaders, the armies of the Mongol Empire, mainly Turkic, swept through the region. By the early 15th century, a new power had arisen in western Anatolia, the Ottoman emirs, linguistically Turkic and religiously Islamic, who in 1453 captured the Christian Byzantine capital of Constantinople and made themselves sultans.
Large parts of the Middle East became a warground between the Ottomans and Iranian Safavids for centuries starting in the early 16th century. By 1700, the Ottomans had been driven out of Hungary and the balance of power along the frontier had shifted decisively in favor of the West. The British also established effective control of the Persian Gulf, and the French extended their influence into Lebanon and Syria. In 1912, the Italians seized Libya and the Dodecanese islands, just off the coast of the Ottoman heartland of Anatolia. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Middle Eastern rulers tried to modernize their states to compete more effectively with the European powers. A turning point in the history of the Middle East came when oil was discovered, first in Persia in 1908 and later in Saudi Arabia (in 1938) and the other Persian Gulf states, and also in Libya and Algeria. A Western dependence on Middle Eastern oil and the decline of British influence led to a growing American interest in the region.
Who are the major players in the Middle East?
BAHRAIN
The majority sect in this small Gulf state is Shia. However, the government is dominated by a Sunni monarchy, military and ruling elite. Shia Muslims began protesting for equality and recognition in the 1970s after the British left. The most recent large-scale protests erupted in 2011. Bahrain and its friends in Saudi Arabia retaliated by clamping down on the opposition, killing civilians.
SYRIA
Syrian unrest began with protests against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in March 2011. The ruling elite in this war-torn country belongs to the Alawites, a minority offshoot of Shia Islam. The civil war has exposed underlying grievances between Shia and Sunni.
LEBANON
Lebanon has been relatively stable, but struggles to maintain a balance between its religious and ethnic sects. In the government, the President must be Christian, the prime minister is Sunni and the parliamentary speaker is Shia. Fighting has mostly been concentrated in the Sunni dominated North in small pockets near the Syrian border, with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah aiding and supporting Assad’s regime.
IRAN
The 1979 Iranian Revolution was key to empowering the Shia community. Iran sponsored and encouraged Shia uprisings in Saudi Arabia’s oil rich eastern province. Keeping Syria in power is vital to Iran’s strategic interests in the Middle East. Syria has been the route to sending people, money, and weapons to groups like Hezbollah, a Shia militant group created by Iran. For Iran, it is all about regional interests.
IRAQ
This is the heartland of the global Shia community. For a long time, the majority Shia Muslims were discriminated by the Sunni-dominated regime. After the 2003 war and fall of Saddam Hussein, Shia Muslims stepped into power, targeting Sunni Muslims through government death squads and torture. Sunnis responded with suicide attacks and bombings. The war has amplified tensions between the two, emphasizing growing nationalistic attitudes of Shia Muslims.
SAUDI ARABIA
Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia consistently feels challenged and threatened by Iran in the race for regional power. Iranians are neither Arab nor Sunni. Saudi Arabia fears Iran will stir unrest among the Shia Muslims living in the Gulf.
Politics, competition, influence and power fuel the current sectarian tensions between Shia and Sunni Muslims, the two main branches of Islam. The root of the hostility is a political question in itself: who is the legitimate successor to the Prophet Muhammed?
Both sects share common religious beliefs: the five pillars of Islam, the Quran and Prophet Muhammed being the last messenger of God. The differences lie mostly in the Shia and Sunni interpretation of the hadiths and sharia law on how Muslims should define and govern themselves. But for the most part, the religious differences are superficial. The conflict and violence is more about political power, where geo-politics intertwines with theology.
In the 1st century BC, the expanding Roman Republic absorbed the whole Eastern Mediterranean, which included much of the Near East. The Eastern Roman Empire, today commonly known as the Byzantine Empire, ruling from the Balkans to the Euphrates, became increasingly defined by and dogmatic about Christianity, gradually creating religious rifts between the doctrines dictated by the establishment in Constantinople and believers in many parts of the Middle East. From the 3rd up to the course of the 7th century AD, the entire Middle East was dominated by the Byzantines and Sassanid Persia. From the 7th century, a new power was rising in the Middle East, that of Islam. The dominance of the Arabs came to a sudden end in the mid-11th century with the arrival of the Seljuq Turks. In the early 13th century, a new wave of invaders, the armies of the Mongol Empire, mainly Turkic, swept through the region. By the early 15th century, a new power had arisen in western Anatolia, the Ottoman emirs, linguistically Turkic and religiously Islamic, who in 1453 captured the Christian Byzantine capital of Constantinople and made themselves sultans.
Large parts of the Middle East became a warground between the Ottomans and Iranian Safavids for centuries starting in the early 16th century. By 1700, the Ottomans had been driven out of Hungary and the balance of power along the frontier had shifted decisively in favor of the West. The British also established effective control of the Persian Gulf, and the French extended their influence into Lebanon and Syria. In 1912, the Italians seized Libya and the Dodecanese islands, just off the coast of the Ottoman heartland of Anatolia. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Middle Eastern rulers tried to modernize their states to compete more effectively with the European powers. A turning point in the history of the Middle East came when oil was discovered, first in Persia in 1908 and later in Saudi Arabia (in 1938) and the other Persian Gulf states, and also in Libya and Algeria. A Western dependence on Middle Eastern oil and the decline of British influence led to a growing American interest in the region.
Who are the major players in the Middle East?
BAHRAIN
The majority sect in this small Gulf state is Shia. However, the government is dominated by a Sunni monarchy, military and ruling elite. Shia Muslims began protesting for equality and recognition in the 1970s after the British left. The most recent large-scale protests erupted in 2011. Bahrain and its friends in Saudi Arabia retaliated by clamping down on the opposition, killing civilians.
SYRIA
Syrian unrest began with protests against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in March 2011. The ruling elite in this war-torn country belongs to the Alawites, a minority offshoot of Shia Islam. The civil war has exposed underlying grievances between Shia and Sunni.
LEBANON
Lebanon has been relatively stable, but struggles to maintain a balance between its religious and ethnic sects. In the government, the President must be Christian, the prime minister is Sunni and the parliamentary speaker is Shia. Fighting has mostly been concentrated in the Sunni dominated North in small pockets near the Syrian border, with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah aiding and supporting Assad’s regime.
IRAN
The 1979 Iranian Revolution was key to empowering the Shia community. Iran sponsored and encouraged Shia uprisings in Saudi Arabia’s oil rich eastern province. Keeping Syria in power is vital to Iran’s strategic interests in the Middle East. Syria has been the route to sending people, money, and weapons to groups like Hezbollah, a Shia militant group created by Iran. For Iran, it is all about regional interests.
IRAQ
This is the heartland of the global Shia community. For a long time, the majority Shia Muslims were discriminated by the Sunni-dominated regime. After the 2003 war and fall of Saddam Hussein, Shia Muslims stepped into power, targeting Sunni Muslims through government death squads and torture. Sunnis responded with suicide attacks and bombings. The war has amplified tensions between the two, emphasizing growing nationalistic attitudes of Shia Muslims.
SAUDI ARABIA
Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia consistently feels challenged and threatened by Iran in the race for regional power. Iranians are neither Arab nor Sunni. Saudi Arabia fears Iran will stir unrest among the Shia Muslims living in the Gulf.
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