A key strategy of the ISI is provoking sectarian violence, which is did with spectacular success in the 2006 bombing of a revered Shi'ite shrine in Samarra.
Mosque and shrine bombings aren't working any more, according to this article and the ISI is working overtime to provoke more violence, even destroying a whole village this summer.
“The Iraqi Army is not the one people worried about three years ago,” said Ambassador Hill. “They were considered part of the problem a few years ago; now it’s an army that is broadly understood not to be engaged in sectarian violence.”
Militias got a bad name during that period, even among the people they were supposed to protect. Many were blamed for extorting money from their neighborhoods and carrying out kidnappings for profit. “The time of the militias is over and they will not come back,” said Sheik Abdullah al-Shimary, leader of the Shiite Al Shimer tribe in Diyala. “There are security forces now, and they are the ones who have the responsibility to control our areas.”
...
Another important difference has been the rejection by Sunni politicians of attacks on the Shiites, which was rarely heard in 2006. “The Sunnis openly and clearly are condemning these attacks,” said Ghassan al-Atiyyah, a political analyst who directs the Iraq Foundation for Democracy and Development. “And they’re all emphasizing that this is trying to stir up sectarian violence.”
Now if we can just get to this point in Afghanistan.
UPDATE:
Now new problems are popping up, with violence targeting mush more vulnerable groups with little if any social protection.
Rising tensions between Arabs and Kurds are also diverting attention in recent weeks.
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