And the government dominated by Shias has a hard time cracking down on fellow Shias who go after the Sunnis who have slaughtered them under Saddam and in the insurgency.
The deal with Sunni tribal leaders was one part of bringing the Sunnis in from the cold.
Going after the Shia death squads is the other part of what must be done to end Sunni resistance:
Two dozen Iraqi soldiers were killed in fierce street fighting with Shi'ite militiamen in the city of Diwaniya on Monday in some of the bloodiest clashes yet among rival factions in Shi'ite southern Iraq.
Thirty seven people were killed, according to army, militia and medical sources. Five soldiers were posted missing in a battle officials said began late on Sunday when troops tried to detain men of the Mehdi Army militia of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
The pieces are coming together. But this takes time, unfortunately. Have some patience and we will win this and take a big step toward winning the Long War, too.
UPDATE: Coalition forces will be going into Sadr's turf in Baghdad in a week or so. And the article also clarifies that in the Diwaniyah 12-hour clash, 20 soldiers died and 50 militia members died. The militia got the worst of that exchange. While the Iraqi army toll is high by our standards, the training clearly paid off in killing the enemy at a 2.5:1 ratio. The Shia militias will find the Iraqi army a tougher foe than people the thugs have picked up in the middle of the night to execute. I imagine the Sunnis chiefs who signed the loyalty pledge will watch how the operations against the Sadr thugs go with interest.
