Caribny and Stormy,Colin Powell famously quoted someone "if you break it, you own it". The current Mid-East implosion and its effects on the rest of the world started with the US's support for the Shah of Iran who got into power in a coup d'etat. The Ayatollah came to power in Iran and the US used the Iraqis as a proxy. At the end of the Iran-Iraq war the Saudis were belligerent towards Saddam, who complained in the Gulf Cooperation Council with the US as observer status. Ignored, Saddam went into Kuwait, and the US put troops in the holy land to Osama bin Laden's dismay. 9/11 followed and then the straw that broke the camel's back - Bush's invasion of Iraq. Paul Bremmer's de-baathification move had enormous impact in opening old wounds that Saddam kept a lid on. The Arab spring came after the chaos in Iraq and Abu is right to point out that religious differences existed centuries ago. The question we have to ask is not about religion but the politics of it. The religion in all its troubling aspects will continue. We have to solve the politics and the military is one act in that. The Iraqis with US help is about to assault Mosul and isolate Raqqah. I hope before Obama leaves office IS is history - like Osama bin Laden. There will still be remnants of Al Qaeda nd IS but they will be more manageable.