Three maps that explain Iraq's dilemma

[eridani]

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/10/04/1334294/-Three-maps-that-explain-Iraqi-s-dilemma

You can practically overlay the al-Qaeda/Sunni insurgency map from 2006 with the 2014 ISIS map, and both maps fits inside of the yellow Sunni areas of the first map.
It makes perfect sense, considering ISIS was al-Qaeda in Iraq first.

There is a very clear lesson to be learned here: This isn't just a simple hostile invasion.
This has homegrown roots.
To put this into perspective, consider this statement by a Sunni leader who is organizing a militia to fight against ISIS.

As Iraqi forces and various militias, backed by American airstrikes, have sought to beat back fighters calling themselves the Islamic State, Mr. Nujaifi has pursued his own military response, narrowly tailored toward reclaiming Mosul. He is trying to assemble a 3,000-person militia of mostly Sunni Muslims from Nineveh Province to deploy against the militant group, also known as ISIS.

“We want to give a new image to the people: that Mosul will fight ISIS with people mainly from Mosul,” he said. “The people will not accept a return of the Iraqi Army.”

Consider the significance of that statement for a moment. Let's say that somehow, some way we manage to drive ISIS from Iraq with just air power and the incompetent Iraqi security forces.

Nothing will have changed for Iraq. The country will still be in a state of civil war!

What's more, how would the Iraqi security forces drive ISIS from Iraq if they are unable to enter the Sunnis areas because the local Sunnis are fighting them?
To put it even more simply, you cannot separate the fight against ISIS from the Sunni/Shia civil war. The two things are joined at the hip.