Hate to say it but Islamists, or should I say Wahabists seem to be fighting everyone one at the moment, especially other branches of Islam and secular Islamic states.
And the biggest irony is that the islamists/wahabists/extremists are getting funding from organisations and wealthy individuals in states which are officially great friends with the West; the Gulf Arab states. No doubt the Anericans will have told countries like Qatar and Saudi to clamp down on such support [like what was done previously with support sent to the AQ elements in Afghanistan and Iraq] but whether anything is actually done is the question. For countries like Saudi Arabia, getting rid of the Alawites [considered heretics] is part of the strategy in weakening Iran and Hezbollah, as part of the 'cold war' being fought for power and influence in the region amongst the Sunnis [led by Saudi Arabia] and Iran, over the Sunni/Shiite schism.
There most be some moderate groups.
What's your definition of a
moderate?
The reason I'm asking is because mainstream Western news organisations tend to designate groups as
moderates and
extremists but at most times there's a very thin line separating the 2 and which designation is applied often depends on whether that particular group is fighting for the same aims as the West. Back in the 1980's Hetmatyar's Herz Islami were the
good guys as they were fighting the Soviets and also because the Pakistani's told the Americans so; same with Haqqani's group and Rasul Sayaf - now all these groups are
terrorists,
jihadists and
extremists. The FSA may not be as extreme as the Wahhabists but if they still intend on creating an Islamic state and prefer women to wear the veil, will the West then apply the
extremist tag on them? One of the reasons used to justify the presence of foreign troops in that country was so women would have equal rights and equal opportunities; no mention off course was made that quite a few rules imposed by the Taliban were based on Pashtun culture and that women in Saudi Arabia were also denied certain rights! Its funny in a way but almost all of the dictators in the Middle East, including Assad, tend to be secular, but countries like Saudi Arabia, which is non-secular and has strict laws, is a friend of the West; and then of course there is Iran which allows its women greater freedom than many Arab Gulf states but is a
threat to the region and the free world ....
