As Mideast Realigns, US Leans Sunni

US President George Bush began his second term with a sweeping determination to spread democracy and freedom around the world. In the face of continued struggles in Iraq and a rising threat from Shiite Iran, that idealism has faded into "realpolitik." The main criterion for White House support today is opposition to Tehran rather than liberalization, which means that the Bush administration is giving arms and money to Sunni authoritarian leaders and militant Sunni tribesmen. It’s not clear if this is part of a deliberate strategy to divide the region along sectarian lines, but it certainly marks a return to the Cold War-style politics of containment, amoral alliances and realism. – YaleGlobal