The Violent Fringe
A quick Middle East update: The violent fringe is seeking to drive a wedge between differing factions in this sectarian country. Which one? All of them as far as I can tell.
Everyone knows about the sectarian problems in Iraq. So do they, and apparently with some prodding from Bush they are trying to make some headway into forming a new government that will be able to break the power of the violent fringe (al Sadr).
In palestine, the violent fringe (Hamas) was voted into power recently, which caused some consternation internationally. Well when you vote the violent fringe into power, don’t be surprised if they turn out to be violent. Interestingly this may cause the rest of the country to wake up again, and demand some real reform. This may cause more violence.
And to the north a bit in Lebanon, they have managed to put off for two and a half weeks the violence that I thought was coming there. Their violent fringe (Nasrallah and Hizbullah) decided unilaterally to drag the entire country into a war that most of the country didn’t want, and this woke up much of the rest of the country. When things weren’t going their way Hizbullah pulled out of the government and someone started killing the rest of it. There are speeches and demonstrations back and forth but at least for now the violence is quelled. Since they lived through years of civil war, but also years of prosperity, I wonder if they will be able to work it out with words and not bullets.
And then I look at our country and ask who is driving the sectarian wedges?