GEN. CASEY: "... If you took a 30-mile radius from the center of Baghdad and drew a circle, 90 percent of the sectarian violence that goes on in Iraq, 80 to 90 percent, would take place in that circle; a little bit outside of that in Diyala Province, and a little bit down in Basra. So the idea that the country's aflame in sectarian violence is just not right. So I don't subscribe to the civil war theory. " (Press Briefing 11 October 2006)

Seems reasonable on face - so why are we having such a hard time controlling the situation? Some possible answers in this paper by C.L. Staten, Sr. National Security Analyst-Emergency Response & Research Institute. It is a concise, highly readable paper/briefing written nine days after the March 20, 2003 invasion of Iraq. Many of the predictions made by Staten about the potential problems with urban warfare were chillingly on point including issues like armored personnel carriers, enemies that "don't fight fair" and collateral damage propaganda.