Iraqi brigade taken "offline"

Within its context, this is a pretty big deal, but I think it's intended mainly as a symbol and as a political token to the Sunnis. (Earlier Iraq catchall post.)

With the level of militia and insurgent infiltration into the Iraqi security forces, it is no longer realistic to think about rescreening or "retraining" all the suspect units, so I think the US singled this brigade out, probably one of the worst, probably Shia, to show an example, hoping that it will "scare" other units into behaving.

The Sunnis will see this as a crumb. (less than 1/2 of one percent of the police,) and, to the Shia militias, what threat does the government really hold for them?

In the balance of power, the militias can threaten the government far more.

The situation in Iraq has developed a significant internal inertia towards more chaos and an open civil war. All of the trending favors a weaker central government, futher sectarian bloodletting, and more anti-Americanism. With every failed action, Maliki's previous reconciliation plans, Operation Forward Together, that sense of inevitability, the inertia of Iraq, grows stronger.