If we withdraw from Vietnam, what is to prevent the Commies from taking Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore? The Domino Theory has always been nonsense. There are non-US reasons why the radicals will not have a free hand. Turkey is a major power in the Islamic World and it is fairly civilized and secular. (Unless you sell drugs, as the goof in Midnight Express found out) As the Greeks have often discovered, Turks do not take crap from nut jobs. India, a nuclear power with a huge army, would not like a Pakistan run by radicals. China and Russia will support a rational, peaceful Iran, but not an Iran that is trying to eat up the Islamic world. And Iran desperately needs their support. Egypt is a strong, responsible Islamic country that would not like to see a rival, Shiite superpower on their border.
In other words, this area has checks and balances that work, unless we have an idiot Texan out using force majeure to unravel them as quickly as possible.
Remember, the Shiites are a minority in the Islamic world, and the majority has no qualms about slapping them down if they overreach. They won't do that while American troops are mucking up the area.
Saddam was very weak. Why didn't Iran take it while he was still in power? Because too many other Islamic states would find that untenable. |
