Not That It's A Civil War Or Anything

WaPo provides on-the-scene reporting from outside Baghdad:

Col. Michael Garrett on how his troops are "fighting in multiple directions": "I'm not fighting one sect or the other. I'm fighting both. And not only am I fighting both, but at certain points I have to put my forces in between the Sunni and Shia groups to protect the populace."

Maj. Craig Whiteside on the difference between Shia and Sunnis: "Shiites don't like to shoot. . . . They just EFP you. The Sunnis use snipers, RPGs, mortars -- they'll attack you in every possible way."

Maj. Rick Williams on the nature of the fight. "We are in the land of the blood feuds. It's very difficult to tell a tribal fight from a sectarian fight because interests are pretty mixed. You can't just put up a fence . . . Any group you work with can turn on you. That is part of the operating cost."

Lt. Col. Robert Balcavage on what U.S. troops accomplish when they attack forces of al-Qaida in Iraq and the Sunni Islamic Army: "We blow AQI and Jaish al-Islami up and make them bigger than they are."

Sgt. Josh Claeson on how it all feels: "Our basic mission here is to drive around and get blown up."