U.S. military can't defeat Al Qaeda or insurgency in Sunni province, says report

"The U.S. military is no longer able to defeat a bloody insurgency in western Iraq['s Sunni Anbar province] or counter al-Qaeda's rising popularity there, according to newly disclosed details from a classified Marine Corps intelligence report, ['State of the Insurgency in Al-Anbar']."
. . . The report describes Iraq's Sunni minority as 'embroiled in a daily fight for survival,' fearful of 'pogroms' by the Shiite majority and increasingly dependent on al-Qaeda in Iraq as its only hope against growing Iranian dominance across the capital.
True or not, the memo says, 'from the Sunni perspective, their greatest fears have been realized: Iran controls Baghdad and Anbaris have been marginalized.' Moreover, most Sunnis now believe it would be unwise to count on or help U.S. forces because they are seen as likely to leave the country before imposing stability.
. . . [Anbar's Sunnis] have been increasingly abandoned by religious and political leaders who have fled to neighboring countries, and other leaders have been assassinated.
. . . A final section of the report, titled 'Way Ahead,' . . . outlined several possibilities for bringing stability to the area, including establishing a Sunni state in Anbar, creating a local paramilitary force to protect Sunnis and to offset Iranian influence, shifting local budget controls, and strengthening a committed Iraqi police force that has 'proven remarkably resilient in most areas.' "

source
The Washington Post. Anbar Picture Grows Clearer, and Bleaker. November 28, 2006.

posted: saturday, december 2, 2006, 1:10 AM ET
update: saturday, december 2, 2006, 4:32 AM ET