In Iraq, and now Syria, US seeks secular outcome by… promoting sectarian division

In Iraq, and now Syria, US seeks secular outcome by… promoting sectarian division

By Annie Robbins
Mondoweiss 
March 29, 2013

Everybody is talking about Syria, which we can all agree is a mess. With rare exception, this site has not been covering Syria, but I must point out that Assad is fighting a jihadist-dominated rebel movement, and the US is continuing to insert itself by utilizing the "inclusion of some of the more radical forces... to assert a moderate authority in Syria"(pdf). How reassuring--not.

There's an illusion that exists widely in the mainstream that the US is trying to build strong or moderate secular states we can all relate to. This neverending fantasy of a benevolent US role in nation building is perpetuated by the constant drumbeat of sectarian divisions in the Middle East, divisions the US does not shy away from fostering, as they seem to justify positioning our influence as a "moderating force."

Continued. . .