Adviser: Iraq ‘civil war’ places U.S. in reactive role

By Robin HinderyAssociated Press

NEW YORK — Iraq is embroiled in a “low-level civil war” that is forcing the United States to react to events on the ground rather than shape them, according to a former U.S. military adviser who spent two years there studying the insurgency.

“Once you start reacting to events, you cannot impose a solution,” said Ahmed Hashim, a professor at the Naval War College who worked with U.S. troops in Iraq from November 2003 to September 2005 in an effort to understand the emotions and loyalties driving Iraq’s insurgents. “You go along with the flow.”

Speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations on Tuesday, Hashim said the most powerful force behind Iraq’s chaotic downward spiral in recent months is “the identity issue” dividing Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds.

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