Less violent forms of Shi’ite sectarian cleansing continued, however, and Sunnis continued to be pushed out of mixed areas, including Baghdad. Some Shi’ite militia elements did “stand down” as a result of the “surge,” and did not clash with US troops. In addition, the report focuses on those aspects of the Shi’ite extremist threat that continued to increase. There were also signs that such alliances could be expanded from Anbar to cover other parts of Northern and Central Iraq and Shi’ite, as well as Sunni tribes. US American military officials were able to pursue local alliances with tribal and sectarian groups to fight against al-Qa’ida in Iraq. The report covers the impact of the rising Sunni tribal resentment and anger against al-Qa’ida and the most extreme elements of the Sunni Islamic extremist movements. However, the security forces in many areas were still not capable of independent operations, and some had clear sectarian allegiances. The ISF did perform well in some areas, and the Iraqi Army did show a steadily increasing capability to operate with reduced US support. The report covers the current stalemate in the Iraqi government and its implications. The result was to create Shi’ite zones in the south, Sunni zones in the west, and Kurdish zones in the north, with tension, violence, and insurgency in mixed areas in central and northern Iraq. The end result was to turn the four provinces in southeastern Iraq over to feuding Shi’ite factions whose actions were mixed with corruption, extortion, and links to criminal activity. The continued implosion of the British presence in southeastern Iraq reduced British forces to three token enclaves in the Basra area. Operation Phantom Thunder drove many insurgents out of highly patrolled areas, and increased activity in areas that were previously relatively quiet, particularly in the north. However, large-scale bombings with mass-casualties continued in other areas. Violence in Anbar Province decreased, and US and Iraqi forces inflicted serious damage to Al Qa'ida and extremist Shi'ite militia forces while increase the security of large areas in Baghdad.
There were both positive and negative developments. The attached report examines how changes in the American military posture in Iraq and the build up of US troops to 160,000 military personnel in June 2007 has impacted the Sunni and Shi’ite insurgency.
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