US intel report: Iraq's Anbar province 'politically lost'.

Anbar province, bordered by Syria, Jordan and SA , is almost a third of Iraq. Losing it could be the beginning of the end. What a mess.
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September 11, 2006.
US intel report: Iraq's Anbar province 'politically lost'.
Chief Marine analyst says region's political vacuum being filled by Al Qaeda.
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One Army officer summarized it as arguing that in Anbar province, "We haven't been defeated militarily but we have been defeated politically - and that's where wars are won and lost." The "very pessimistic" statement, as one Marine officer called it, was dated Aug. 16 and sent to Washington shortly after that, and has been discussed across the Pentagon and elsewhere in national security circles. "I don't know if it is a shock wave, but it's made people uncomfortable," said a Defense Department official who has read the report. ...
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Devlin reports that there are no functioning Iraqi government institutions in Anbar, leaving a vacuum that has been filled by the insurgent group Al Qaeda in Iraq, which has become the province's most significant political force, said the Army officer, who has read the report. Another person familiar with the report said it describes Anbar as beyond repair; a third said it concludes that the United States has lost in Anbar.
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The Post reports that Colonel Devlin offers several reasons for this situation: a lack of US and Iraqi troops in the province, the collapse of local governments, and a weak central government with almost no presence in the region.
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http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0911/dailyUpdate.html
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http://mapsofworld.com/iraq/iraq-political-map.html