| SamuelRSmith said: Syria is an Iranian puppet state, no? (That's the impression I get). Intervening in Syria could cause action from Iran... then again, with all these hawks in office, you'd think that would go in the "pro" column for intervening in Syria. |
Not at all. Syria and Iran have had good relations in the past (both sponsor or have sponsored Hezbollah, for one), but Iran and Syria have core ideological differences, namely that Syria tries to be more secular-Arab (similar to Egypt or Hussein's Iraq), while Iran is full-tilt theocratic, and Iran is Shiite Muslim while the Syrian regime is Alawite-Muslim (the difference being the majority of Iranians are Shiite, but the majority of Syrians are Sunni, so Syria's Alawite regime can't afford to be too religious)
Iran has backed Syria in this, largely to spite the West, but depending on the nature of the Syrian opposition, Iran might not be completely opposed to an overthrow of Assad (but the opposition in Syria's case, like Libya's, would be indebted to the West, so likely would be bad for the Iranian position in the short run). Russia more sternly supports them because Syria is a bulwark against both radical islam and the West, which is exactly where Russia stands, so they see it more in their interest than protecting the Iranians.
Monster Hunter: pissing me off since 2010.
