Syrian Wars of Proxy Are a Cautionary Tale for the U.S.

Dr. As'ad AbuKhalil is a professor of political science  at the University of California. He describes the Syrian war as not only a proxy war but it has an internal dimension in Syria. He has identified eight conflicts in the Middle East in a piece circulated by Peace Action to its affiliates.

1.) The internal Wahhabi war. The internal Wahhabi war is pitting the various Wahhabi parties in the region against each other. The Saudi regime, Qatari regime, al-Qa'idah (Nusrah front) and ISIS: all four are Wahhabi and each is trying to dominate the field of the Wahhabi movement.

2.) The Iranian-Saudi war. The two sides are engaged in struggles in different parts of the region, from Yemen to Lebanon and Syria. The conflict is over political dominance and hegemony.

3.) The Sunni-Shia war: this is a rather contrived war that was instigated by the Saudi regime -- at the behest of of the U.S. and Israel -- to undermine the basic of Arab support for Hezbullah and Iran in the region.

4.) The Russian-American war: this war is reminiscent of the Cold War. The conflict between the Russian government and the American government has never reached this level since the demise of the Soviet Union. The conflict over Ukraine and Syria, among other places, has pushed both sides to resort to the tricks and methods of the Cold War, including proxy wars.

5.) Qatari and Saudi conflict. The Wahhabi regimes are fighting over many issues but they both wish to speak on behalf of political Islam. Qatar banks on the Muslim Brotherhood and some elements of Jihadi Islam, while the Saudi regime banks on the Salafis and some elements of Jihari Islam. This conflict may explain the conflict between the Nusrah Front and ISIS.

6.) The Hezbollah versus the Future Movement: both of those Lebanese movements have been fighting in Syria. The Future Movement is a broad and loose movement which comprises various strands, including Salafis.

7.) Clash of Islamist identities: Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Iran are all hoping to leave their national imprint on the political Islamist movement in the region.

8.) The regional conflict between the global organization of the Muslim Brotherhood on one hand and the regional Salafis on the other.

Dr. AbuKhalil says that these proxy conflicts now determine the course of events in Syria and the Syrian people themselves have very little control over them

ADDENDUM: From time to time the Congressional Research Service publishes a report listing "notable deployments of military forces overseas." CRS updates this list "as circumstances warrant." The latest report covers deployments through August of 2014. It does not include the new bombing campaigns in Syria and Iraq.

Dividing this data by "eras" we find:

Post Cold War (August 1990 - 14 August 2014): 146 deployments (averaging 6.3 per year: Clinton: 65, Bush: 39, and Obama: 33)

Cold War (24 June 1948 - August 1990): 47 deployments (averaging 1.5 per year)

Interwar and World War II (1918 - 1948): 34 deployments (averaging 1.1 per year)

Imperial Era and World War I (1866 - 1917): 69 deployments (averaging 1.4 per year)

Nation's Finding through Civil War (1798 to 1865): 65 deployments (averaging 1.0 per year)