Anyone who doubts that the wars in Iraq and Syria are closely connected need look no further than the role of Al-Qaeda's Islamic State in Iraq and Greater Syria, whose fighters have been pouring over the Syrian border into Iraq's Anbar Province.
As much as Iraq's Sunnis fear for their future, the Shiite majority, now overseeing the untested proposition of a Shiite-led Arab state, also have reasons to be fearful.
The Sunni community, now buffeted by Al-Qaeda on one side and the Shiite state on the other, has never had much interest in helping Maliki stabilize Iraq's new political order.
It is not at all clear that Iraq's Sunnis are ready to accept any Shiite leadership.
Iraqiyya's Shiite leader never once campaigned in southern Iraq, where most Shiites live.
Iraq's Shiites are Iraqis and Arabs first, and Shiite second.
Given the strength and territorial concentration of Iraq's Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish communities, any successful Iraqi government must find ways to rule the country through inter-communal consensus.
The Saudis do not appear to want to mediate between Shiites and Sunnis, or even between rival Sunnis.
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