Not a Boffin,
I agree that this is a problem between the Sunni and Shi’ite that has been going on for 1,300 years, and it will not stop. And the naive opinion by some that this is a political war and can be solved at the negotiating table is absurd. This conflict is about the establishment of a Muslim caliphate and the genocide of all other religions.
The IS is a radical Islamic Sunni sect that is hell bent on establishing a Sunni caliphate in Iraq and the Levant for the purpose of establishing a base for the expansion of Islam and the eventual conquest of Europe and the West. That is from their own mouths.
Iran, which is Shi’ite, will probably react strongly if the IS appears to be about to take over Iraq because they will not want a Sunni caliphate on their border. That will be a confrontation the US and the West will probably not want to get involved in.
If we don’t stop this now, while it is in its infancy, we will have confront it later when it is established and in a much stronger position.
Bob C