Shiites and Stereotypes

Robert Kagan points out in The Washington Post that not all Shiites are the same, and being Shiite doesn't mean one favors an Iranian style government:

Compare liberal and journalistic open-mindedness during the Cold War, when the subject was communism, with the remarkable rigidity from these same quarters today when it comes to a very different group of people: Shiite Muslims. The votes were still being counted in Iraq this month when the New York Times reported in the opening sentence of a front-page article that the likely winners of the Iraqi election were 'an alliance of Shiite parties dominated by religious groups with strong links to Iran.' The Post went the Times one better 10 days later with this sensational headline: 'Iraq Winners Allied With Iran Are the Opposite of U.S. Vision.' Columnist Robert Scheer wants to know 'why the United States has spent incalculable fortunes in human life, taxpayer money and international goodwill to break Iraq and then remake it in the image of our avowed 'axis of evil' enemy next door.' Or as James Carville says more pithily: 'We done trade a half-a-trillion dollars for a pro-Iran government!' So much for the subtle distinctions of the past. So much for complexity. And so much for letting a little time pass before jumping to alarmist conclusions that are likely to prove, shall we say, simplistic. Much of this anti-Shiite paranoia is being stirred by other Iraqis, of course, either because they are sore electoral losers or because they hope to weaken Shiite influence in the new government. Most leaders of the neighboring Arab states are Sunni and make no secret of their anti-Shiite prejudices. But that doesn't mean Americans should adopt their prejudices or their paranoia.

Most of the over-blown rhetoric of Iraq becoming a puppet to Iran seems to me to be simply a way to deride the very hopeful positive signs we are seeing in Iraq. Once again, it is the "yes, but" syndrome. Yes Saddam was a murderer, but... Yes it's great we caught Saddam, but... Yes it's great Iraq had a successful election, but... I don't deny that their is some validity in some of these buts. However, all too often it seems those putting them forth are not trying to look ahead and plan for future problems or deal with reality as it is, they are simply trying to make the case that no matter how successful things are, the entire operation is a failure.