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McCain May Actually Not Know Sunnis from Shiites
The blogosphere poked some fun a couple days ago when McCain said dominantly Shiite Iran was aiding dominantly Sunni al Qaeda and had to be corrected by his traveling buddy Joe Lieberman.
But I'm starting to wonder if McCain simply doesn't have a strong grasp of the subject matter. He said it twice at the March 18 press conference where he was corrected by Lieberman. He made the same assertion last month, and said it on the radio on March 17. And to commemorate the 5th anniversary of the war, he sent out a statement (likely written by his staff) that appears to repeat the claim.
The McCain campaign's explanation is that McCain "misspoke" at the press conference with Lieberman. I'm starting to seriously doubt that. But what's the actual explanation? McCain can't possibly be so ignorant of foreign affairs that he thinks Iran and al Qaeda are in bed together, can he? After this many years in the Senate? Perhaps he was having a series of what my parents call "senior moments."
For a man who has staked his entire campaign on Iraq and his understanding of foreign policy, this is bizarre.
McCain, who touts his foreign policy experience, doesn't know the idfference between the Sunnis and the Shiites in Iraq and Iran. I must admit that I'm not too clear myself, but then again I haven't spent the last 26 years in the House and the Senate and I'm not running for President.
I do know this: Sunnis are a majority in the Arab and Muslim world. Most of the Arabs, Turks, Kurds, and Persians (Iranians) are Sunni. Most of the Iraqis, however, are Shiite.
Not knowing the difference is kind of like not knowing the difference between Catholics and Protestants in Ireland. Or Baptists, Catholics, Protestants and Mormans in the United States - they're all Christians, right.
McCain is quoted as saying that it was a slip of the tongue, like Obama saying the "president of Canada".
I think his foreign policy is pretty clear...brown people are inferior, and expendable under any circumstances...
The Persians (Iranians) are mostly, nearly all of them, Shiite, not Sunni.
Islam broke into 2 sects virtually at the death of Muhammed when the successor was being chosen. The Ummah, or community, and it's leaders wanted to choose someone older who had standing the the community (so the caliphate was born). But Shiites say that Muhammed, on his death bed, had asked for paper and something to write with, but was denied his request with the statement, "He's delirious." Abu Bakr, Muhammad's father-in-law, became the first Caliph. Shiites believe Muhammed had chosen 'Ali, Muhammed's cousin and son-in-law, to be his successor. In Shiite Islam, 'Ali became the first Imam. Not so long after that there were wars between the two sects. Not knowing the difference is like not knowing the difference between Catholicism and Protestantism.