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

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

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