American forces refocus strategy in Iraq

A recent rise in suicide attacks that has left at least 300 people dead in the last 10 days, has the US commanders rethinking their strategies in Iraq.

Reports suggest the Pentagon is giving higher priority to fighting "foreign and domestic jehadists in Iraq".

Previously, US authorities have depicted the militant resistance to American and Iraqi forces as being dominated largely by what the Pentagon has dubbed 'former regime elements' a combination of one-time Baath Party loyalists and Iraqi military and security service officers intent on restoring Sunni rule.

However, since the January 30 elections, "this segment of the insurgency has appeared to pull back from the fight, at least for a while, reassessing strategies and exploring a possible political deal with the new government", according to senior US officers.

US officers in Iraq admit that the change may only be a temporary one Sunnis may become more violent if they feel the new political process ignores them but the rise in attacks to 70 a day over the past month is primarily being fuelled by an influx of foreigners, military intelligence suggests.

The new US focus, as well as the heavy casualty toll, are some of the reasons the US launched a major assault in Iraq's western Anbar province, near the Syrian border, a site long believed by the US military to be a favourite point for "foreign fighters smuggled into Iraq," possibly with Syrian assistance.

More than 1,000 US troops, along with air support, are involved in the operation, which may last several days.

Two senior senators, one Democratic and one Republican, said over the weekend that only about one-quarter of the 168,000 Iraqi troops currently being trained are able "or willing" to fight.

The outcome of the political process will also make a difference, one way or another, according to Democratic Senator Carl Levin of Michigan.

Levin said if Iraqis fail to write a constitution, elect a new government and develop reliable security forces by early next year, Washington would have to rethink its commitment to Iraq.

Republican Senator Chuck Hagel, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, agreed.

The writer is an Arab journalist based in Washington