Iraq is one country and should not be divided. Iraqis are Iraqi first; Sunni and Shia second.
Al Qaeda is defeated but not finished. They are psychopathic brutal murderers and sadists and ceded the moral high ground to the American troops and its Iraqi allies. Factions who previously fought us have joined us to defeat the greater enemy. While it may not have been our intention to attract Al Qaeda into Iraq, the fact that they came and were so soundly defeated accomplishes our end goal and makes the world safer.
We made many mistakes and were given a second chance. Patraeus is doing a great job.
The Iraqis are impressed when they see our military commanders lead the fight in combat. It makes their own leaders look bad and has set a new standard for their military.
The Iraqis realize that while mistakes like Abu Ghraib happened, that our military is more defined by their assistance to build infrastructure, bring medial aid and help them build a country. While we are certainly not flawless the Iraqis are genuinely impressed by our troops. When an Iraqi citizen is detained, the family is greatly relieved if they are in the hands of the Americans rather than the Iraqi police.
Michael Yon at Wikipedia
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