The battle lines of the Iraqi civil war

Reading this NYTimes article on the Shia's "remaking" of Baghdad, (perhaps the most polite euphemism for ethnic cleansing ever used,) I got to thinking back to a Patrick Cockburn article from October as to how the battle lines in Iraq are being drawn.

Cockburn's contention at that point was that the Sunni efforts were not to try to take territory in Baghdad, but instead to work to control the countryside around the city with the intention of controlling the roads and traffic as well as electricity in and out of the capitol.

This scenario does explain the outsized efforts of the Sunni in the smaller towns and cities around Baghdad, Balad, Baquba, Mahmoudiya, and really, if you think about it, it would fit into a broader strategy.

The periodic Sunni terror bombings occupy significant numbers of the Shia militias into checkpoints and defensive duties, and, as the militias draw their popularity from their "protective" abilities, they find themselves tied to this role, all at a relatively small cost to the Sunnis.

Again, I don't know if this Cockburn interpretation right, but I think it may be, and it's an interesting counterthesis to the way the conflict is being portrayed in most of the western press.