Mahdi Army, Not Al-Qaeda, is Enemy No. 1 in Western Baghdad

I think the war reporting from the NY Times and the Washington Post keeps getting better and better. This article reveals that Al-Qaeda is pretty much a minor player in Iraq, and people like A-Sadr and his Mahdi army, hold the real power. The Shiites are orchestrating a campaign to ethnically cleanse the Sunnis from this area. Prior to the take down of Saddam, as this article tells you, Sunnis made up 80 percent of this part of Baghdad. Now, it's just 20 percent. Before I link to this article, here's an excerpt:

"To prevent the extermination of Sunni residents, the battalion has launched a series of raids to capture Mahdi Army leaders. Because Sadr's followers dominate the Health Ministry and control access to most of Baghdad's hospitals, the Americans have plans to open a hospital catering to Sunnis in the al-Furat neighborhood. They are developing a program in which a roaming tanker would dole out gas to Sunnis barred from the area's gas stations. On his drives through the neighborhoods, Lt. Col. Patrick Frank, the battalion commander, points out Iraqi contractors newly hired by the U.S. military to clear trash, build fences, set up generators and fix sewage pipes. In the areas overseen by the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, $74 million has been committed for such contracts."

Now, this may all seem well and good. I'm against any kind of extermination, be it Sunni or Shiite. But note the last sentence. 74 million dollars is being earmarked to build a hospital for Sunnis, as well as giving them gas. These are our tax dollars, mind you. Now, we are paying for what I am presuming is a form of universal health care for Sunnis. How come UHC is good enough for Sunnis, but not good enough for us Americans? Gas is over 3 dollars a gallon here in the States, and doesn't look to be going down anytime soon. But the Sunnis are going to be getting free gas.

One more excerpt:

"Last Monday, they pulled up outside a gated school on a tip that someone had launched rockets from the inner courtyard, using the children as cover so the Americans would not fire back. The brigade commander, Col. Ricky D. Gibbs, said later his patience for such tactics was limited: 'One of these days, if they keep shooting, I'm going to shoot back and level the whole neighborhood.'"

This is why in a battle of conventional military forces against guerillas, the guerillas will win each and every time. They'll snipe at the military forces, at first annoying them. But with time, as it takes more of a toll in blood and pain, the military forces inevitably reveal their hand and overreach, such as leveling an entire neighborhood, wiping out many people and turning the once-neutral survivers and their neighbors into sympathizers with the insurgents.

Anyway, here's the article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/15/AR2007071501248_pf.html