The balance of power in Iraq.

Lt. Col. Chris Pease said he asked a young Iraqi street cop to give him an honest analysis of what’s going on in the street. “He said to me, ‘Do you want me … to tell you the truth?’” Pease recalled. “His assessment was that the militias are everywhere … and his officers weren’t going to do anything about that because their units are infiltrated, and they know what the cost would be for working against the militias.”