Al Qaeda in Iraq'a fortunes- another view
The article in the attached link reports American military leadership touting the fact that Al Qaeda in Iraq is in disarray- its leadership largely killed and in custody, the remnants isolated and unable to gain resources to go forward. The article further notes that these successes have been largely the result of cooperative efforts between US and Iraqi security forces. And on the surface how can we not be pleased?
One thought jumps immediately into my mind though. As I recall, Al Qaeda in Iraq has largely been an organization rooted in the Sunni population. And discussions of the Iraqi security forces have noted that they are, in many parts, dominated by Shias. So is it possible that greater success in getting rid of the Al Qaeda structures reflects the Shia leadership increasing their efforts to rid the landscape of forces not-aligned with sectarian goals rather than evidence of the success of our intentions.
A year from now will our objectives be met if Iraq's government is Shia-dominated and leaning toward Iran? No one will say the demise of Al Qaeda in Iraq is anything but good. However I think we need to recognize that it's not the whole picture.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100606/ap_on_re_us/us_us_iraq
One thought jumps immediately into my mind though. As I recall, Al Qaeda in Iraq has largely been an organization rooted in the Sunni population. And discussions of the Iraqi security forces have noted that they are, in many parts, dominated by Shias. So is it possible that greater success in getting rid of the Al Qaeda structures reflects the Shia leadership increasing their efforts to rid the landscape of forces not-aligned with sectarian goals rather than evidence of the success of our intentions.
A year from now will our objectives be met if Iraq's government is Shia-dominated and leaning toward Iran? No one will say the demise of Al Qaeda in Iraq is anything but good. However I think we need to recognize that it's not the whole picture.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100606/ap_on_re_us/us_us_iraq
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