Inevitable as gravity
Iraq Insurgency Spreads, U.S. Finds More Foes and Fewer Friends
By MICHAEL R. GORDON
WASHINGTON, April 8 — The spreading insurgency in Iraq has drastically altered the strategic equation for the United States military. One year after United States forces fought their way into Baghdad, Americans now find themselves facing more enemies, with fewer effective allies, than they had counted on.
And the military also has two new and demanding missions: subduing a restive Sunni city of about 250,000 people, and the subtle and complex job of neutralizing the militia of a radical Shiite cleric without alienating the rest of the Shiite population.
Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the commander of the American-led force in Iraq, today bluntly committed his forces to a sustained campaign to do both. The victory that seemed to be sealed when American armor rolled into Baghdad a year ago now appears to hang in the balance as American forces do battle with a diverse array of insurgents and militias.
