Historic change seems to be at hand in Iraq, where "the Shiites are going to have more power than at any time in the history of the nation," the Bush aide said.
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The postwar upheaval, according to Gerecht, will enable the Shiites to gain "a political and military role that their numbers and social, cultural and commercial prominence have long warranted."
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According to CIA statistics, Shiites account for at least 60 percent of Iraq's 25 million people, but Sunnis, comprising less than one-third of the population, have commandeered most of the controlling positions in the ruling Ba'ath party, armed forces, industry and media.
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The prospect of seeing the Iraqi Shiites breaking the mold "makes a lot of people nervous in status quo nations in the Gulf," according to an Arab ambassador in Paris.
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Among the world's 800 million Muslims, Sunnis outnumber Shiites by 10 to 1 - and they dominate every Arab country ranging from Morocco to Egypt and Iraq.
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But the Shiite minority concentrated in the Gulf sits atop many key oil-producing regions, including southern Iraq and nearby Saudi Arabia's petroleum-rich eastern province.
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Most importantly, Iran, while not an Arab country, is a Shiite nation run by radical clerics embodying the zealous fervor often associated with the Shiite schism in Islam from the dominant Sunni orthodoxy.
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Because of Iran's proximity, Iraq's Shiites have often been suspected by Arab leaders of being a
.
The postwar upheaval, according to Gerecht, will enable the Shiites to gain "a political and military role that their numbers and social, cultural and commercial prominence have long warranted."
.
According to CIA statistics, Shiites account for at least 60 percent of Iraq's 25 million people, but Sunnis, comprising less than one-third of the population, have commandeered most of the controlling positions in the ruling Ba'ath party, armed forces, industry and media.
.
The prospect of seeing the Iraqi Shiites breaking the mold "makes a lot of people nervous in status quo nations in the Gulf," according to an Arab ambassador in Paris.
.
Among the world's 800 million Muslims, Sunnis outnumber Shiites by 10 to 1 - and they dominate every Arab country ranging from Morocco to Egypt and Iraq.
.
But the Shiite minority concentrated in the Gulf sits atop many key oil-producing regions, including southern Iraq and nearby Saudi Arabia's petroleum-rich eastern province.
.
Most importantly, Iran, while not an Arab country, is a Shiite nation run by radical clerics embodying the zealous fervor often associated with the Shiite schism in Islam from the dominant Sunni orthodoxy.
.
Because of Iran's proximity, Iraq's Shiites have often been suspected by Arab leaders of being a
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