Epstein Secrets

No one had properly estimated the enormity of the problem that militias, Iranian-backed special groups and criminal elements constituted for Basra. Maliki (the PM) not only sent in troops, he enlisted the help of local elements, in particular tribal members, As the effort falters, Maliki (a Shia) call

re troops from Anbar Province (a Sunni province) and they join the battle and, with some US assistance, they turn the tide. In the Battle of Basra, the Iraqi Army, for the first time took the lead in engaging the insurgents. The Iraqi army, initially faltered, adjusted both their tactics and the composition o

Status of Forces agreement had to be approved by the Iraqi Parliament, according to American legal experts. And no Iraqi politician, certainly not Maliki, seemed willing to stake his political future on supporting legal immunity for American soldiers. Of course, even after a full withdrawal, the Unit

he same day that U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta addressed the Senate Armed Services Committee about the readiness of Iraqi troops, the head of the Iraqi Army, Babakir Zebari, was being feted like a royal in Tehran. Zebari, who has made headlines in the past by announcing that American troops should stay

the Sunnis will be even more isolated than before. President Obama's call for a multiethnic governing coalition aside, it is inconceivable that Mr. Maliki will now reverse his policy of excluding Sunnis from governance. In short, despite the rapid success of the Sunni campaign, it is a kamikaze attack

l need in the street fighting that ensues. Moreover, rather like what happened in Syria, the Sunni offensive is likely to spur a transformation of the Iraqi Army from the sorry mess it is now into a more resilient and operationally effective force. In Syria, the army reeled in the face of the rebellion in 20