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The article discusses the efforts of the U.S. military's Central Command and security forces in Iraq to exploit fragmentation of Sunni extremist groups in Iraq that have aligned with the militant groups Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and the Baath Party. Topics include the militants' focus on the government of Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, research conducted by U. S Intelligence officials, and provinces battling with the extremists.

The article reports that the political power of Iraq's Kurdish community is fading as its relationship with Iraqi Arabs has deteriorated. The Kurds had been allies of the Shiite government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, but their efforts to gain control of the city of Kirkuk, a center of the petroleum industry, has created opposition from both the government and its Sunni opponents. The division is another setback for U.S. efforts to create a stable government in Iraq.