all these things are really surface maneuvers. the big story in the middle east is the shia versus the sunni. this is their version of protestants, catholics, call it what you will, but that s really what s happening. so in iraq it is a shia dominated government friendly to iran, and there are sunni insurgeon sis against it. in syria you have a quasi-shia government and sunni militancies and insurgent sis against it. saudi arabia if you will is spearheading the sunni side. the iranians are spearheading the shia side. they re fighting in all these various places. the wonder it took so long for something direct to happen because they ve been indirectly fighting proxy wars now for ten years. so while all of this is going on, and this is a key region i m also thinking of course with regard to syria and saudi arabia and iran and their different interests and backing different groups in syria, u.s.-led