They hate each other WAY more than they hate the west. That's why they have to work so hard to make the West the "Great Satan" to band together against. These conversations always seem to gloss over (or miss completely) that while Arabs and Persians are Muslim, they are also strongly culturally Tribal. They are probably even more tribal than they are Muslim. I don't think Americans get that, because our convenient just doesn't have "tribes" the way SW Aisa does.
This exactly. The entire "Unite the Muslim world", had about as much chance as the Flying Spaghetti coming down from the Great Meatball and appointing me his Holy Messenger on Earth.
Arabs and Persians - US Civil War only going on for several millennia.
Shia vs Sunni vs Wahabi,vs Sufi vs Alwites vs all the others - Picture Europe before WWI, but way, way. way worse.
Tribal - Hatfields vs McCoys
And the last is why Western Armies and continue to kick the *expletive deleted*it our of Arab armies. Picture your a private in Basic, in the west. You have no tribe, so you learn to get along and work with everyone in your unit regardless of race, color, creed, religion, sex, or anything else. You have to work together or you could very well get kill and/or kill everyone around you. (which makes you very unpopular with what's left of your unit.) As Gunny Hartman says in
Full Metal Jacket I am hard, but I am fair. There is no racial bigotry here. I do not look down on niggers, kikes, wops or greasers. Here you are all equally worthless.
And it's true, everyone gets *expletive deleted*it on equally, the fireguard/KP/other duty rosters generally are in alphabetical order, so there it no favoritism.
You go to an Arab Army, and Tribe is everything. It starts with whether the "leadership" in your unit is the same Shia or Sunni as you. Then the same tribe, then the same family. The closer you are in family relations to your leadership, the better your duties, assignments and promotions. If you are say a Sunni in Shia unit (like a lot of the Iraq Army was (and to a certain extent is), you could be guaranteed to get every *expletive deleted*it assignment in both war and peace. You job would be to "Move out and draw fire", when you weren't cleaning latrines with your face. Yet the guy right next to you in the ranks, would be more and better food, cush assignments, and promoted ahead of you. So there was no cohesion. And that's assuming that there isn't the rampant corruption, and incompetence (again promotions and appointments based upon how closely you were related to TPTB. SO even an greatly outnumbered, inadequately armed and trained, cohesive force, like the Israelis could cut through them like a hot knife through butter. Back in the 80's, we thought the IDF was the absolute *expletive deleted*it when it came to warfighting. Then we went up against an Arab Army in DS/DS. And learned first hand that the IDF truly had been going up the JV team.
And the "No central religious authority", means there's nothing to rally around. There is no "Pope", so killing Al-Baghdadi only pisses off a few thousands, a few ten thousands of Arabs. As opposed to killing the Pope would inflame millions of Catholics. (I remember when John Paul II was shot), I know lots of Catholics that wanted NATO to go after Bulgaria.
Anyway, what was the question?
