[muawiyah]

Whether or not Anbar province is "part" of Iraq or off on its own, without oil money it's just a patch of desert filled with hopelessly impoverished people ~ a new outdoor slum in fact.

There's nothing of worth there.

What a tremendous political victory for the "insurgency" (/sarcasm)

[mad_as_he$$]

U R correct but it is scum bag breeding ground zero.

[hoyaloya]

Can someone remind me as to why we so strongly oppose the partition of Iraq?

The Kurds get the north and the oil there, the Shias get the southeast and the oil there. The Sunnis get the west and the sand there. If any group doesn't like their lot, they'd better cooperate and play nice with the occupiers who serve as referees.

Turkey's concerns? Like they've been helpful. Which isn't to say Turkey isn't a friend, but rather that all things considered, I'd rather have Turkey pissed off than lose 500 American troops a year trying to keep Ramadi as part of a larger Iraq.

It seems to me that by playing along with the one Iraq concept, we give one group (the Sunnis) more leverage than they should naturally have. Come on, we have 35% of the population killing us as we try to avert a civil war in which this 35% would get slaughtered. They should be our biggest supporters as we institute the rules that would keep the very embittered majority from slitting their collective throats.