Everyone has heard Bush ad infinitum talk about how Anbar Province is safe, etc. What I found interesting about this question is that Russert followed up with asking about Sunnis being paid off by the United States. (Anbar Province, of course, is the stronghold of Sunnis.) I recall reading recently that the United States has been secretly arming the Sunnis.

Shiite and Kurdish officials expressed deep reservations on Sunday about the new U.S. military strategy of partnering with Sunni Arab groups to help defeat the militant organization al-Qaeda in Iraq.

Some of these groups, believed to be affiliated with such organizations as the Islamic Army or the 1920 Revolution Brigades, have received weapons and ammunition, usually through the Iraqi military, as well as transportation, food, handcuffs and direct assistance from U.S. soldiers. In Baghdad's Amiriyah neighborhood, a local group of Sunnis who call themselves the Baghdad Patriots were driven around earlier this month in American and Iraqi vehicles and given approval by U.S. forces to arrest suspected al-Qaeda in Iraq members.

And this.

They say, 'We hate you because you are occupiers' " he said, " 'but we hate Al Qaeda worse, and we hate the Persians even more.' " Sunni militants refer to Iraq's Shiites as Persians, a reference to the strong links between Iraqi Shiites and the Shiites who predominate in Iran.

Um. This helps with a civil war between factions.... HOW? Is this supposed to make the Shiites feel good about the American occupation when they know that the US arms the group that is against them?

An Iraqi government official who was reached by telephone on Sunday said the government was uncomfortable with the American negotiations with the Sunni groups because they offered no guarantee that the militias would be loyal to anyone other than the American commander in their immediate area. "The government's aim is to disarm and demobilize the militias in Iraq," said Sadiq al-Rikabi, a political adviser to Maliki. "And we have enough militias in Iraq that we are struggling now to solve the problem. Why are we creating new ones?"

Gates reply is also telling. Is it really so that in order to get loyalty to the United States, American taxpayers are paying what really equates to either hush or bribe money to Iraqis?

The U.S. military is exploring creative ways to offer financial aid and other support to tribes that have turned against al-Qaeda or want to protect their neighborhoods.

The U.S. military's ultimate goal is to encourage the tribes, many of which are composed of former Sunni insurgents, to join Iraq's army and police forces. Tribes throughout Iraq have shown an increasing willingness in recent months to stand up to insurgents but may be looking for assistance in return for broader cooperation.

Bonus video is half slo-mo where Gates is asked about when the troops will leave. Pfffttttt