On Anti-Insurgency in Anbar, Go West

WSJ this evening provides a most informative report by Atlantic reporter Bing West and his son Owen West, himself a veteran of the Iraqi campaign, on the progress of anti-insurgency efforts in Anbar province. Their thesis: the real "civil war" in Anbar is between the Sunni tribal leaders and Al Qaida in Iraq.

The Wests say that Anbar is the Wild West, and Gary Cooper is just starting to clean up the town. We recommend a careful reading of the article to capture some of the details. A quotation:

But to put the state of the province in perspective, six months ago the head of Central Command, Gen. John Abizaid, told the Congress that "Anbar was not under control." Last week the U.S. commander in Anbar, Maj. Gen. Walt Gaskin, said he was "very, very optimistic."

Still, American efforts are doomed, per most of what one reads these days. Might as well quit trying, go home, seal the borders and listen to emo until they come to kill us all.