FEAR

Note that Gen. Petraeus told Huge Ego that one of the big changes he noted since his 2005 tour in Iraq was the sectarian violence:

In fact, people ask, you know, what are the big changes during the sixteen months that you were gone from Iraq? I left Iraq in September, ’05, returned in February, as you noted earlier. And there were two really significant changes. One was the damage done by sectarian violence. It is undeniable, it was tragic, and it has, as I mentioned earlier, ripped the very society, the fabric of Iraqi society. It’s caused very significant fault lines between sects and ethnic groups to harden, and it has created an environment that is much more challenging that before it took place.

Crocker sums up Iraq with one word: 'Fear'
By Barbara Slavin, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — The U.S. ambassador to Iraq testified Thursday that Iraq faces "significant difficulties" despite some signs of political progress.

He warned, however, that an unconditional U.S. withdrawal from Iraq could cause a spike in the sectarian violence that the recent increase of U.S. troops was intended to quell.

"If there is one word, I would use to sum up the atmosphere in Iraq — on the streets, in the countryside, in the neighborhoods and at the national level — that word would be fear," Ryan Crocker told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

"For Iraq to move forward at any level, that fear is going to have to be replaced with some level of trust, confidence and that is what the effort at the national level is about," he added, speaking by video link from Baghdad.

Crocker pointed to progress in Anbar, Diyala and Ninevah provinces, where he said local Sunnis were turning against al-Qaeda. But he acknowledged "very serious concerns" about the involvement of Iraqi police in sectarian violence.

He also denied he was predicting "a rosy future" even for places, such as Anbar, where the United States has lately found greater local support. In response to a question from Sen. Russ Feingold, D.-Wis, Crocker said, "I have no idea" whether that progress can be sustained.

"We buy time for what? A political reconciliation process that is not occurring?" asked Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb.Crocker said the answer is "complex" because conditions vary from region to region. He noted that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and other top leaders, representing rival political groups, were now holding regular meetings on Sunday mornings to try to bridge their differences. But he said they are having "significant difficulties" and are going to need more time.

"It's pretty hard to make sweeping compromises … because you have a constituency out there that is significantly scarred."