Anbar's Sunni Arabs led the Awakening that helped break al Qaeda in Iraq's back by the end of 2007.
Anbar's Sunni Arabs are divided on fighting al Qaeda which has swept into two Iraqi cities at the beginning of 2014:
In Ramadi, tribesmen and the army have been working together to counter the al Qaeda insurgents.
However, in Falluja, ISIL's task has been made easier by tribesmen who have joined its fight against the government.
I don't blame some Sunni Arabs for being upset at how Maliki is sharing the wealth.
But I don't blame Maliki and Shias for being upset that too many Sunni Arabs would love to go back to the glory days of Saddam's rule.
Do the Sunni Arabs siding with ISIL in Fallujah forget the torture city that the jihadis set up there in 2004? Are the Sunni Arabs there forgetting that the jihadis were so bad that working with America--who had ended their Saddam glory days by force--was the better alternative?
And the Sunni Arabs of Anbar should understand that many Shias would be more than happy to play by local traditional rules and expel the Sunnis of Iraq to Syria where they can enjoy living in a Sunni-majority Arab state.
Iraq got Hellfire missiles for precision strikes. But they could go the barrel bomb route if that's how the Sunni Arabs want to play.
That would be foolish for Iraq to do, since it would create new Palestinians who'd pine for their homes in Fallujah for the next several generations. But that doesn't mean it can't happen.
But hey, that at least might get American attention. As Iraq explodes, John Kerry sees hope of success in his foray into the Palestinian-Israeli issue.
