ARTICLE: "At Lonely Iraq Outpost, GIs Stay As Hope Fades U.S. Soldiers Persevere Despite Snipers, Ambush," By Greg Jaffe, Wall Street Journal, May 3, 2007, Pg. 1

ARTICLE: "Sunni Muslim Sheikhs Join US In Fighting Al Qaeda: Iraqi tribal support is linked to drop in violence in Anbar Province," By Sam Dagher, Christian Science Monitor, May 3, 2007, Pg. 1

You know how much I admire Greg's ability to capture ground truth, so this is some depressing news out of Iraq.

You know, there are various ways to speed the inevitable killing in Iraq. Some work better with our presence, others without. As we remain unable to muster the sufficient number of troops through allies (we don't do diplomacy, remember?), I think it's time to try the latter route so as to incentivize the Saudis and Iranians and Syrians to more malleable positions.

And yeah, I barely distingush between the three.

I don't think forcing the function of sectarian violence precludes efforts against al Qaeda, and even if it does, al Qaeda would quickly get lost in the noise, so I take less solace than most about success in enlisting Sunni help against al Qaeda. I don't think that "enemy" constitutes our biggest problem in Iraq right now.