DENVER, Colo. — No, this isn’t convention-related, but still. Colin Kahl and Shawn Brimley, two counterinsurgency experts with the Center for a New American Security just back from a trip to Iraq, have a powerful op-ed in the Los Angeles Times calling attention to the looming crisis with the Sons of Iraq militia:

We talked to a number of tribal and Sons of Iraq leaders during our trip. When asked what would happen if the Maliki government did not keep its word and integrate or otherwise accommodate their members, one leader was blunt: "There will be trouble."

It is obvious where this road might end. The last time tens of thousands of armed Sunni men were humiliated in Iraq — by disbanding the Baath Party and Iraqi army in May 2003 — an insurgency began, costing thousands of U.S. lives and throwing Iraq into chaos. Yet Maliki and his advisors risk provoking Iraq’s Sunni community into another round of violence.

Kahl and Brimley also expand on a point I’ve been making about Maliki:

During our trip, a common theme among U.S. military commanders, intelligence officers, diplomats and Iraqi political leaders we spoke with was the growing hubris of Maliki and his closest advisors. Recent government successes in Basra, Sadr City and Mosul seem to have convinced Maliki’s inner circle that Iraq’s army does not need American help as much as it used to.

Be careful what you wish for when you wish for the Iraqi government to "step up." Can we finally put to rest all the talk about sectarianism having receded? We’re still feeling the aftereffects of our civil war.

Crossposted to The Streak.