Bremer’s reply was brusque, as he recalled it. “I know what I’m doing,” the American diplomat said. “There’s going to be some kind of compensation. I’ve got it all in hand, thank you very much.” To the king, it was no surprise to see how quickly security unraveled. As a Sunni himself, he could empathize with Iraq’s minority Sunnis, who, after decades of privileged status, saw themselves as increasingly isolated and threatened. Those anxieties would drive some Iraqis toward radical Islamists, who in turn would open the door to foreign jihadists. Of course al-Qaeda and its allies would leap at a
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