Joshua landis the great sorting out

In the discussion section of the last post (“Syria and the Lessons of Iraq”), my friend Joshua Landis made an interesting comment that I felt should be promoted to the main page.

I publish it below with a few minor edits, and with Joshua’s permission.

The great sorting out friedman

It is followed by some brief comments by me.

I’ll ask some friends and colleagues who work on these issues to see if they’d be willing to contribute their thoughts as well.

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The Great Sorting Out: Ethnicity &  the Future of the Levant

(Guest commentary by Joshua Landis)

I believe that the best historical European comparison to what is taking place in the Middle East today is Eastern Europe, which was multi-ethnic and multi-religious.

Much of it was part of dynastic empires, much like the Levant: a multi-religious/ethnic part of the Ottoman Empire. Perhaps the single greatest outcome of WWII in Europe was the creation of