It’s been notable to me that the o-called “surge” in Iraq has involved US troops ganging up with Sunni militias to drive Al Qaeda out of the Sunni heartlands. There has been very little news about US forces doing anything about Shia militias.
According to Robert Haddick the US policy has not gone down well with Shia Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. al-Maliki has no interest in helping Sunnis. “He sees the Sunnis whom General Petraeus is now arming as mortal enemies.”
But, of course, if the US can’t build a peaceful democracy in Iraq, then the next best thing is a balance of power in Iraq and in the region.
[T]he U.S. is pursuing a balance of power strategy in the Persian Gulf region... Instinctively or not, it is U.S. policy to prevent any one player from achieving too much power in the Persian Gulf region.
Haddick provides quick review of the last half century to demonstrate how this has always been US strategy. The problem right now is the power of Iran. That means that the US wants Iraq as a counterweight to Iran.
And really, so long as oil fuels the Middle East it will be a trouble spot, and the US will want to make sure that no single power ever dominates the region.
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