``This country needs a political solution, not a military solution," one government worker told Marines who stopped by his home in Haditha. ``Are we going to stay in this situation where you shoot them, they shoot you? We are the victims."
American attention has shifted in recent weeks to Baghdad, where violence between Sunni and Shi'ite extremists is on the rise. The US is sending nearly 12,000 US and Iraqi forces to the capital to try to curb the violence.
US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad has said sectarian violence in the capital is now a greater threat to Iraq's stability than the Sunni Arab insurgency, which is entrenched in western Iraq.
Nevertheless, of the 23 US troops who have died this month in Iraq, 16 were in Anbar.
The situation in Anbar, with its heavily Sunni population, is a barometer for the entire Sunni Arab minority, which lost its favored position to the majority Shi'ites and the Kurds when Saddam Hussein's regime collapsed in 2003.
As long as the insurgency rages here, it is unlikely that Sunni Arab politicians in Baghdad can win over significant numbers of Sunnis to support the government of national unity, which took office May 20.
Some areas in Anbar have shown significant progress, such as the border city of Qaim, once an Al Qaeda stronghold. Trouble has increased in other areas, like the rural stretch between Ramadi and Fallujah.
In Baghdad, US military spokesman Major General William Caldwell said yesterday that Al Qaeda was making a concerted effort to gain legitimacy by promoting itself as a credible organization.
``The terror network appeals to Iraqis in desperate social and economic situations while projecting a civic-minded image," Caldwell said, adding that Al Qaeda was seeking to build support ``from whole tribes rather than individual Iraqi citizens."
On the other hand, US commanders say few insurgents have shown a willingness to meet with them, much less hold meaningful talks.
