It may well be more of a prelude to civil war than a step forward. Rather than an inclusive document, it is more a recipe for separation based on Shiite and Kurdish privilege.

If, as is certainly possible, the situation devolves down to civil war or separatism, then no amount of military action can really deal with the problem.

Both Iraqis and coalition people often exaggerate the role of foreign infiltrators and downplay the role of Iraqi resentment in the insurgency.

They're pretty much the same results that have been going on since 2003, so it's consistent with a lot of the attitudes that exist. We're not seen as liberators by the Sunnis, but what else is new?

How much of the battle space can the Iraqi forces take over, and who is actually doing the fighting - those are the key measurements. The measure cannot be the elimination of the insurgency, as desirable as that would be. You cannot eliminate all of the bombings.

The decline in the readiness of Iraqi forces described in (the) testimony is a major reversal for the United States. We expected to be far better off today, not only in terms of the highest readiness category, but the second.(category of readiness).