Quote Originally Posted by Bob's World View Post
In shah Allah. And if the Sunnis want to call their portion a "Caliphate," more power to them. Better to have a tangible Caliphate that is a small, weak state on the west banks of the Euphrates - than to retain the Caliphate as a powerful, unifying idea in the minds of frustrated young Sunni men.
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Why would the one preclude the other? It seems to me the weak state does not preclude the unifying idea at all. In fact its very existence gives that idea something tangible to coalesce around. Frustrated young might rather like something tangible to fight for. And weak states can develop into strong ones. This one is already strong enough to take over large parts of two countries and stand off forces from the Baghdad gov and Iran.