U.S. Military Report: Iraq At Risk of "Failing as a State"

A February U.S. military report from the Institute for National Strategic Studies at the
National Defense University terms Iraq "at risk of failing as a state and describes the situation as follows:

the Shi’a factions that dominate the government in Baghdad and
their Kurdish allies continue to balk at making political concessions—including refusal to adopt inclusive political practices or end the broad application of de-Ba’thification laws—that could undermine
their newfound positions of power. Rather than creating accountable
ministries staffed by apolitical technocrats and experts, they find it
necessary to ensure control by embedding family, friends, and clients in powerful (and lucrative) posts. While they have promised cooperation with American and coalition forces in the war on al Qaeda and other terrorist elements, in reality they define terrorists as their political or tribal opponents and the militias those opponents control.