 In late 2006 or early 2007, in what journalist Seymour Hersh called "The Redirection", the United States changed its policy in the Muslim world, shifting its support from the Shia to the Sunni, with the goal of "containing" Iran and as a by-product bolstering Sunni extremist groups.Richard Engel, who is an NBC News Chief Foreign Correspondent, wrote an article in late 2011 alleging that the United States Government is pro-Sunni and anti-Shia.During the Iraq War, the United States feared that a Shiite-led, Iran-friendly Iraq could have major consequences for American national security.