Military operations in Iraq have not succeeded in weakening the insurgency, and Iraq’s government, with US support, is now seeking a political reconciliation among the nation’s ethnic and tribal factions as the only viable route to stability, according to US military officials and private specialists. Two years after the toppling of Saddam Hussein, the Iraq conflict has evolved into a classic guerrilla war, they argue. Outbreaks of fighting are followed by periods of relative calm and soon thereafter, a return to rampant violence. Despite significant guerrilla setbacks and optimistic predictions by a host of American commanders earlier this year, the Sunni-backed insurgency remains as strong as ever, forcing American officials and their Iraqi allies to seek a political solution to the bloodshed. Pentagon officials and current members of the military interviewed for this story spoke on condition of anonymity. Full Story
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