Sunni and Shia engagement: effects of the surge

The lion's share of this article, as is clear in the title, is about the effect of the surge on engagement with and among the Shia. The most interesting analysis to me, though, is the first section discussing Sunni engagement, where the author points out that if nothing else, the Sunni leaders we've been dealing with since starting the surge have far more legitimacy among the Sunni than anyone who's been willing to deal with us previously. It kind of drives home the distinction between dealing with legitimate leaders on whatever terms we have to and trying to create leaders out of whatever shmoes are willing to deal with us on our terms...