joshua landers, and lawrence core, a senior fellow at the center for american progress. >> what do you think, professor landis, can it help to assuage simmering tensions that exist between regional neighbours to work together on the project of routing i.s.i.l. from syria and iraq? >> well, the big problem is the sunni shi'ite divide that has really split the middle east down the middle. we are trying to bring the two sides together on syria. it will be very difficult to do. in many ways we are forgetting the syrian people here. in many ways, the sunnis, sunni arabs, are 70% of the syrian population. the government is dominated by shiate allo whites. these sooun -- allo wights. the sunnis are trapped teen sectarian governments, and caught in vice grips. unless we ultimately find a solution for the sunnis trapped in the middle that can bring them some justice, representation, we are never going to clear up the i.s.i.s. problem. which is extremism, fighting to gain a voice. many sunnis do not like i.s.i.s., but see - they don't like asaad more or the government in baghdad. this government