Interesting link, thanks.
That interview squares pretty well with what I’ve read: the the brutality of the extreme Islamic Militants (both those identifying themselves as “Al Qaeda in Iraq” and others) has forged an alliance of convenience between US forces and Sunni Groups such as the “1920 Revolution Brigades” who were attacking US forces a year or two ago.
As I understand it the good news is that this has allowed a massive rebuilding of “civilian” LE, up to something like 15,000 in Anbar from around 2,000 18 months ago, and a corresponding improvement in civic order.
The less pleasant news is that apparently (as expressed in that interview) they owe their allegiance to local leadership rather than to the Central Government.
It is a matter of getting the right balance between local allegiance, self reliance, and national loyalty. (Not only in Iraq, but also in our own good ol’ USA I might add.) The problem in Fallujah seems to be partly that under Saddam, Fallujah had it good with the socialist handouts. Maybe there will be a weaning off of that mentality now, but that may take a generation or more.
Still, there are some good developments.
We were no different at our founding...