Reply #21: The problem in Iraq was extremely poor intelligence.

[Selatius]

Often, the "informant" the US military relied upon was feeding the US bogus information to settle a grudge. He'd feed them information saying a tribal rival of his was really Al Qaeda in Iraq like showing videos, pictures, and captured IEDs/weapons to demonstrate they are the enemy, and lo and behold they would get blown up once fly-overs determined there indeed were weapons stockpiles, compounds, and lots of men with guns. Then, his enemies became our enemies once they realized who hit them.

The US resolved the situation when it simply started paying protection money to the various resistance groups in Iraq as well as tribal leaders. The problem is once the money stops flowing, the bleeding will likely start again. At any rate, the war is draining the US Treasury.