Dore Gold of JCPA has written on Iran, Hizbullah, Hamas and the Global Jihad:A New Conflict Paradigm for the West
It is well worth reading. I have long questioned whether the US needs the Saudis or the Saudis need the US. It seemed to me that Iran poses a threat to the Saudis and so they are not in a position to demand Israel’s demise. Dore agrees,
[..] Yet while Iran seeks greater influence in the Sunni-dominated states, the Iraq War has exacerbated Sunni-Shiite tensions across the Middle East, leading Sunni leaders like Jordan’s King Abdullah to openly talk about the dangers of a Shiite crescent encircling the core of the Middle East. And in anticipation of a U.S. pullback from Iraq, the Saudi Arabian leadership has voiced its concern regarding the prospect that Iraqi Shiites intend to ethnically cleanse Iraq of its Sunni minority population with Iranian backing.
As a result, the Sunni-Shiite rivalry is likely to emerge as the central axis of conflict in the Middle East in the years to come. Given this new strategic context, the U.S. and its Western allies have enormous leverage with the threatened Sunni Arab states. As a consequence, the West does not have to pay for their cooperation in Israeli coin. Moreover, Saudi Arabia’s continuing support for radical jihadi movements among Sunnis needs to be carefully monitored and addressed.
