<<What about the core essence of all humans, self preservation?
<<The only way this will work is through coalition and compromise.
<<Otherwise the Sunni's don't stand a chance. >>
Well, that's what I've been saying all along. But it's a long painful road. That's actually the story of England - - from the Heptarchy forward. From religious wars, horrible persecutions, tortures, the physical expulsion of the Jews, just one crazy stupid fucking disaster after another but in the end they just finally got their shit together and figured out what works and what doesn't. They learned the hard way that you don't get ahead by constantly battling your neighbour to the death.
You even have, in the example of the Norman Conquest, a giant societal leap forward brought about at gunpoint (or rather spear-point) by a "superior civilization" invading a bunch of primitive morons and imposing a better system on them. But it took centuries for the changes to take root and the colonizers didn't do things from a distance - - they moved right into the island itself and settled down on it for life.
The Sunni, BTW, stand a better chance than you think - - they're better educated, wealthier, more modern in outlook and they have a lot of support form the other Sunni states in the area and throughout the Muslim world. Right now I believe the Iranians are aiding the Shi'ites but I don't think they're necessarily married to them for life. There are several good reasons for them to sacrifice the Iraqi Shi'ites for a more influential regional role in alliance with Sunni Arab states.
