Alliances of Convenience

Athena:

Yes, of course bin Ladin wants to destroy Saddam and Saddam eventually wants to destroy bin Ladin. Just like Shia Iran wants to rule with their Shiite Velayet-e-Faqih (rule by clerics) and the Muslim Brotherhood ideology promotes a Sunni Islamic caliphate (quite different than the Shia version). While normal Sunni and Shia may not have inimitable hate for one another, Sunni and Shia leadership do.  But they will work together in hopes that the short-term goals will give them the edge in the long-run.

If this gulf can be crossed, we have to at least keep within imaginibility that there can be short-term alliances between secular Sunni and Islamist Sunni. To do otherwise would be a catastrophic "failure of imagination."

Well put.

Comments

[Doubting Thomas]

The wonder is that this has to be explained. History is full of mortal enemies who make temporary alliances. Why isn't this obvious? Just one incredible example: the Austrian and Ottoman Empires were allies in the First World War. Given their history, how could it have been? But it was so.

[Isaac Schrödinger]

>> Doubting Thomas,

Indeed.

Take the Second World War; the German-Soviet agreement right before Poland was raped in 1939. Hitler had nothing but loathing for the Russians and the Communists. However, he wanted to keep 'the First Front' quiet as he enslaved Western Europe in 1940. Five years later, more than two millions Russians obliterated Berlin.