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Iraqi Security Forces have succeeded in temporarily pacifying Basra.
Even the most diehard Iraq hawks want
to reduce the U.S. military footprint in Iraq and lean more heavily on
Iraqi Security Forces to do the hard work of defeating insurgents and
sectarian militias. Which is why recent developments in Basra have been
so encouraging.
At first, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's decision to confront
Moqtada al-Sadr's Iranian-backed militas looked like a major strategic
misstep. Now it appears to have transformed Iraqi politics, potentially
paving the way for real reconciliation between Sunni and Shia. [more]
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