Iraqi Shi'ite militia involvement in Syria's conflict exposes how rapidly the crisis has spiraled into a proxy war between Assad's main ally Shi'ite Iran and the Sunni Arab Gulf states supporting mostly Sunni rebels fighting the president.The key phrase "a proxy war between ... Shi'ite Iran and the Sunni Arab Gulf states" suggests the rebellion in Syria could degenerate into Islam's version of the Thirty Years' War.
N.B., the Thirty Years' War was a battle between Catholics and Protestants in early seventeenth century Europe.
