[afroboy]

This is same thing that happened in Algeria back in the nineties, in Algeria if you let a clear and honest democratic process in the country make assure that an Islamic group will win by majority and that why Europe union (France) will not ever make it happen and Algeria now is in really very bad situation with corruption running by an authoritarian regime so that they can milk them with stupid economic trades.

And to put it in the bigger picture why USA will never let a democratic process in Muslims majority country happen is simply the existence of Israel, you know exactly what the first thing Muslims will do if they united.

[sharikous]

Nah keep Israel out of this. First, it would benefit from secular democracies in the region. Second it has seen far worse things than "Muslims united" and it has won.

The only factors are that big global/regional players (USA, Iran, Turkey, SA) like their vassal state to be easily controlled. And that most cultures there do not have a history of democracy, or for that matter of national states.

[sangnoir]

This time, both sides will have nukes: even the "winner" will still lose.

Edit: what absolutely baffled me was the eagerness of the previous US administration to do nulcear tech transfer to Saudi Arabia; I couldn't see any tactical or strategic advantage to that.

[kungito]

When exactly has Israel specifically won?

[CDRdude]

The Suez War, the Six-Day War, and the Yom Kippur War, I guess?

[ipaddr]

Isn't Iraq democratic now?

[kome]

no, not really... just on paper. like Afghanistan 1 months ago.

[tut-urut-utut]

Afghanistan wasn't democratic even on paper. Only a sovereign state can be democratic, colonies and occupying territories with puppet governments are by definition non-democratic, even if they pretend to have “free” elections.